The Mastery
by Caterina Sforza
Summary: AU. The whole city of Aramarne is captured by the Mastery and are taken as slaves. Mimi Tachikawa gets left behind, separated from her best friend and family, she vows to get revenge on the evil that grips the people of Aramarne.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first story so be kind! I got the idea from the second book of the Wind Singer Trilogy.

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon or the Wind Singer Trilogy.

Summary: The whole city of Aramarne is captured by the Mastery and taken as slaves. Mimi Tachikawa gets left behind, separated from her best friend and family, she vows to get revenge on evil that grips the people of Aramarne.

Chapter 1

Mimi sighed with discontent as she looked down on her white robes; she hated them, the way the looked and what they represented. The city of Aramarne was a beautiful city, but status and wealth was everything. Aramarne had several districts, each for a different class.

Mimi stared out of the window as she looked at the inky black sky. The stars twinkled back mockingly. She let out a small sigh as she listened to the sound of laughter erupting from the street below. She looked down at the grand festival taking place. She smiled as she watched the people of Aramarne, all from different classes mixing for this one day of the year. The festival of Jinkara was a holiday where the people of Aramarne would forget their differences and enjoy each other's company. They danced and sang with each other knowing that tomorrow everything would go back to the way it was, back to the furious enmity between classes.

"Miss Tachikawa," said a soft voice.

Mimi jumped at the voice and turned around to face a servant dressed in gray.

"Your parents are expecting you," said the servant

"Thank you," said Mimi. She brushed pass the girl as she hurried down the long staircase. Her house was in the center of the city, the classiest district. The houses were large and spacious with large, beautiful gardens. Mimi's room was on the top floor so when she reached the living room she was panting and her face was flushed.

"Sweetie, why do you insist on running down the stairs, we could just get some one to carry you," came her mother's sharp voice. "You've become all sweaty!"

"No thank you mother." Said Mimi stiffly. _Why should I cause unnecessary suffering when I can walk down by myself? _Her mother had become accustomed to the great power she wielded in Aramarne. She was apart of the Grand Council of Aramarne and she could order almost anyone around. She gave her mother a light hug and then turned to her father. Her father was a tall man with powerful shoulders. He had worked very hard to gain his status. Mimi's father might have all the material goods in the world but he still unhappy. He wore a tired and weary look and always wore a frown on his face. He only smiles when he spoke to Mimi. When she turned to her father she gave him a dazzling smile, she knew how much he worked and how demanding his job is. He gave her a small smile in return. He paused for a minute and then enveloped her in a big hug.

"Mimi, you look so beautiful," he whispered into her ear. He held her at arms length to examine her. Mimi has long chestnut brown hair that reached her back. She had a porcelain complexion. Her cinnamon eyes twinkled and her heart-shaped mouth twitched into a small smile.

"Come on! We're getting late, the festival has already started!" whined Mimi's mother.

Mimi's beautiful smile turned into a frown as she heard her mother screech. She took both her parent's hand and led them out of their large mahogany door. Their house was white and so were all the other houses in the white district. She turned around to watch the gray-clad servants shut the door and prepare to get ready for the festival themselves. They strolled down the street to the colourful festival. There were lights everywhere and the blue and red firecrackers lit up the sky. There was food stands manned by people dressed in maroon. They fried sausages and the sound of sizzling was lifted up into the air. People passed around brightly coloured sweet that gleamed in the light. Children crowded around clowns and magicians performing tricks. Their cheering and yelling got added to the noise of the crowd.

The dance floor was crowded with people of every colour. It was a beautiful sight to see white dancing with orange, maroon with scarlet. Mimi scanned the city center and then stared at the huge white palace towering over the city center. Inside was the emperor of Aramarne. Nobody had ever seen the emperor and there was much debate about whether Aramarne actually had an emperor or not. Mimi walked towards the food stand, walking pass a group of teenage boys wearing maroon. They stared at her in awe. She scowled as their gaze landed on her. She hurried forward looking down. She hated it when people stared at her. She bumped into a boy wearing long orange robes. He was tall with blonde hair, something that was uncommon in Aramarne where the main hair colour was black and brown, and bright blue eyes. He was quite good-looking.

"Oops! Sorry about that," said the boy. "Hey, you're a white!" he exclaimed.

"You are an orange," Mimi said surveying him with distaste. Aramarne consisted of five districts. The white district consisted of the elite. They were rich and usually had high posts in the government. Then came the Scarlet district with its scarlet houses and its spacious houses with small gardens and crescent-shaped balconies. The orange district came next with its bright orange flats. They had small balconies with no gardens. There were only two bedrooms, one living-dining room and a small kitchen. The maroon district had smaller flats with no balconies. Then came the gray district on the outskirts of Aramarne with its rows and rows of ramshackle buildings. It was two families per flat and the conditions were harsh. Each class had to dress according to their district. Mimi hated this, the hatred between districts. She hated this city and dreamed of escaping, being free. She let out a longing sigh and turned away from the boy.

"Wait!" called the boy as he stuck out his hand. " My name is Takeru Takaishi. As you can see I live in the orange d  
istrict. My father works as a librarian and my mum is a seer."

Mimi blinked. A seer! This was almost unheard of in Aramarne. She smiled at the boy and took his hand. "My name is Mimi Tachikawa. Come, let's go get some food."

The two of them pushed their way through the crowd. Mimi was enjoying Takeru's company. When they reached a food stand she glanced at the person next to her. _Could it be?_ The boy next to her had a bush of brown hair. He was tanned with chocolate-coloured eyes. He was tall and very muscular. He gave her a warm smile as a flash of recognition passed his face.

"Taichi!" screamed Mimi. "It's been such a long time! Where have you been?" she shrieked at her best friend. Taichi Yagami was also from the white district. He had to gone to a boarding school in the city because he had to be ready to inherit the grand Yagami fortune. The Tachikawas and the Yagamis are close friends and allies. They had lived next door to Mimi as long as she could remember. She hasn't seen Taichi in a long time. They kept in touch by writing letters but she missed the bond they shared.

"Hi Mimi," said Taichi with a huge grin, "How are you?" Just as he said that Taichi's little sister popped up behind him.

"Hikari!" screamed Mimi, she reached out and hugged the younger girl. Takeru just stared at Hikari. Mimi glanced at him and a knowing smile appeared on her face.

"Taichi, Hikari this is my new friend Takeru," said Mimi "Takeru this is my best friend Taichi and his little sister Hikari." Taichi gave Takeru an odd look but Hikari gave Takeru a warm smile. She took Takeru by the arm and started chatting with him. Takeru just stared at her with an embarrassed grin. Hikari was shorter than Mimi with shoulder length brown hair. She had the same eyes as Taichi with a cute button nose. She was caring, compassionate and a good listener.

Mimi turned to Taichi and gave him a big hug. When she let go she saw that Taichi wore a small frown on his face. He was staring at Takeru and Hikari. _Uh-oh Taichi's over protectiveness is kicking in. _Taichi loved his sister a lot and was very over protective of her. Taichi turned to Mimi.

"Why did you make friends with Takeru? You will have to forget about him tomorrow. I know you don't believe in classes but…" said Taichi.

"Don't worry," said Mimi calmly

"Mimi…" he mumbled

"Hush," she whispered, "come on, we have a lot to catch up on. Lets leave these two alone." She gestured to Hikari and Takeru. She took Taichi by the hand and dragged him away. He gave his sister and Takeru one last look and then followed her willingly. They walked along the streets of Aramarne; Mimi took in the smells, sights and sounds. She had a content feeling as the both of them watched the magical festival. They climbed up to the balcony of Taichi's house. The moon was high in the sky and it cast a mystical light on the crowd. Mimi glanced at the white walls in the distance that surrounded the city of Aramarne.

"Someday I am going to escape from the city and explore the whole world. There is so much to see and I am trapped in this horrid city." She whispered to Taichi.

Taichi gave her a small smile and she smiled back. "I wonder how Koushiro did it," he said.

"How do you think he is doing now?" Mimi asked staring longingly at the walls. Koushiro, Mimi and Taichi were the best of friends. Koushiro always talked about running away. When his parents died, he seized this as an opportunity to get away. Mimi remembered the last thing he said to her before he left. "I will come back for you someday," but he never did.

"I'm sure he is fine wherever he is," said Taichi.

The both of them just stood there staring into the distant, enjoying each other's company. _It is a beautiful night and I have just got reunited with my best friend, what could go wrong?_ Mimi didn't know how wrong she was

A short distance away from the walls of Aramarne stood a small camp. The harsh winds blew at the campfires causing the men to grunt in discomfort. On the top of a small hill in the middle of the dry planes that stretched as far as the eye could see stood a man on a horse. He surveyed the camp._ This is good; everything is going according to plan. A month of careful planning has finally paid off. During the festival of Jinkara everyone will be too distracted to suspect and attack of any kind. The mastery would be stronger than ever with thousands of slaves to serve them._

The man looked up as he heard soft footsteps. A tall, muscular man with spiky maroon hair approached the man

"Sir, we are ready to attack," said the maroon-haired man

"Good. Thank you Daisuke," said the man as he turned away. Daisuke bowed and walked back down the hill. The man smiled evilly and he turned his gaze back to the camp. A falcon glided towards the man and landed on his shoulder. He looked at the city of Aramarne. He could hear the distant sound oh merry-making as the bright firecrackers exploded over the city.

"It is time," he whispered as his azure-blue eyes narrowed at the city of Aramarne.

Ok this is it. Do you think i should continue. Please review! (puppy dog eyes)


	2. Chapter 2

MY EXAMS ARE OVER AND MY SUMMER HOLIDAYS HAVE BEGUN! I know Mimi is a bit OOC here. To Jyorakoumi, get a life and stop flaming everyone's stories! Thanks alot to Maia's Pen, fiery autumn, absolutgirl and Princessstphanie for your reviews! I really appreciated it1 This chapter is dedicated to you guys!

Disclaimer: I do no own Digimon or the Wind Singer Trilogy

Chapter 2

The celebrations of the festival of Jinkara continued and no one noticed the huge army of the Mastery creeping closer to the walls of Aramarne. The army stuffed padding into their shoes and armor so they would not alert the sentries on watch. The army shuffled forward as the bright moon cast a dim light on them. The army hurried forward into the shadows of the gigantic walls of the city. The men pressed their backs against the wall in silence. If they failed this mission the consequences would be great. They glanced towards their leader for reassurance but found none. His icy blue eyes held no warmth. He raised his hand and the men pulled out the ropes they had been carrying. They tied the ends of the ropes into a loop and threw it up. They tugged on the ropes to see if they were stable and then began scaling the wall.

As soon as they reached the top of the wall, their leader pointed to the watchtowers on opposite each other. Two men immediately sprinted to the towers and dragged out four sentries who were cowering in fear. The soldiers threw the sentries onto the feet of their leader. The four sentries looked up with terror in their eyes and whispered, Yamato…Yamato Ishida!" Yamato smirked and slit their throats. They slumped against the wall, their blank eyes watching the army. He gestured to Daisuke and the maroon-haired man nodded and began walking in one direction. Half of the army followed him and the other half stood nervously awaiting orders from Yamato. Yamato raised his hand and pointed to the other side of the wall. The army immediately dropped down and crawled to the other side.

They peeked over the wall and looked down at the brightly coloured festival below. _Aramarne has become weak, what was once the greatest city in the world is now almost powerless. They will be helpless against the attack of the mastery, which is soon to be the most powerful civilization on this planet. Father will be pleased_, mused Yamato to himself, _and soon I shall be the most powerful ruler on the earth!_ Yamato glanced around and spotted Daisuke a small distance away from him. All the people will be near the center of the city, at the festival. So they needed to get through the many districts of Aramarne.

They climbed down the wall and crept through the gray ramshackle buildings. They dodged in and out of the moonlight and strolled cautiously into the maroon district. Yamato hissed as a group of children yelling merrily played a cheerful game of hide and seek. The army froze in their tracks as the children ran by, but the children were too absorbed in their game to pay attention to the half hidden army. Yamato smirked _everything is falling into place._ They continued marching through the orange and the scarlet district. Towards the end of the scarlet district they stopped. _Daisuke would surely be at the other side by now. Victory for the Mastery would soon be in place. _

* * *

Takeru smiled at Hikari as he twirled her around on the dance floor. It had been a magical night; he still couldn't believe that he was dancing with a white, let alone one as beautiful as Hikari. He scanned the carnival for Taichi and Mimi. 

"Where do you think Mimi and Taichi have disappeared to?" asked Takeru.

"I don't know, those two have always been very close, they haven't seen each other in months, so they probably needed some time alone to talk." Replied Hikari.

"How long have you known Mimi for?" whispered Takeru.

"As long as I can remember. Taichi and Mimi have been friends since I've been born. She and my brother also had another friend called Koushiro. He ran away after his parents passed away. After that Mimi changed a lot. I remember she was spoilt and whiny when she was a child, but now she seems to become quieter, more serious and withdrawn." Said Hikari

"Where could he have gone?"

"I don't know," muttered Hikari.

She smiled up at him and he held her gaze. Both of them stood together capturing each other's gaze in the middle of the dance floor.

* * *

Meanwhile Yamato and Daisuke encircled the festival. They prepared for the ambush, pulling out their swords and testing the strings of the bow. The archers pulled out three arrows. They nocked one and held the other two. Daisuke pulled out his hand-and-a-half sword and stared at it fondly. Yamato drew out a long noble sword from the sheath at his hip. The silver blade gleamed in the moonlight. The sword suited him perfectly. He was tall with blonde hair. He was more lanky than muscular and his perfect features were contorted in a grim expression. His armor shone in the dull light and his wine red cape fluttered in the breeze. He signaled for the men to move forward to the outskirts of the festival. _Everyone was at the festival, so the whole city of Aramarne would be at his mercy._

* * *

Mimi slowly climbed down the stairs of Taichi's grand house. He followed her closely behind. They could still hear the loud, cheerful noises of the festival. They reached the bottom floor and he took her hand and led her out of the door. The cool, night breeze hit their faces and they scanned the crowd and spotted Hikari and Takeru on the dance floor. 

Mimi smiled, "they look so cute together!"

Taichi frowned and said reluctantly, "yes, I guess…"

Suddenly a scream emerged form the crowd and from the top of the palace, hundreds of arrows began raining down on the city. An army of men came bursting out of their hiding places. Mimi shrieked as an arrow hit her feet. She leaped back, wrenching her hand from Taichi's grip.

"Mimi run!" he yelled, " I'm going to find Hikari!"

She reluctantly nodded and watched him run into the chaotic crowd. The food stands were overturned, causing piles of plates and fruits to tumble down, smashing apart as they hit the ground. Screams and yells echoed throughout the entire city square. She watched the men in armor jostle the crowd forward, killing anyone who dared defy them. Mimi spotted her parents in the crowd. They mouthed the word "run" to her. Mimi picked up the bottom of her robes and dashed towards the palace. A maroon-haired man called out to her but he was wearing armor so she didn't stop. She reached the gates of the palace and began climbing over them. A few arrows hit the gates and caught onto her robes, ripping and tearing them, she let out a small sob and jumped to the bottom of the gate. She started towards the palace door but tripped and fell. She could hear the men thundering towards her but that gave her the exhilaration to get up and run. She picked up the pace as she saw the door coming closer and closer. She reached the door and tugged it open. She slipped inside and bolted it shut. She fell back against the door panting. She heard loud bangs behind her so she jumped forward, the door would not keep them away for long.

This was the first time she had been in the palace but she was too scared to stop and look. She ran into along and narrow corridor. She banged into a desk and let out a loud scream, her heart beating hard against her chest. The long portraits of past emperors stared back at her. She squirmed under their never-wavering gaze. They were all tall with powerful shoulders. Their strong chins were decorated with small white goatees. They wore rich green robes with white embroidery. She stared at them but then she heard a loud bang. _ They have broken in! _ She ran, waving her hands wildly until she reached a wooden, brown spiral staircase. It spiraled upwards and disappeared into the next floor. She looked behind her and heard a pair of footsteps approaching her. She reached for the stairs and hauled herself up. She ran up the stairs constantly glancing over her shoulder. The stairs kept going up. She passed the red-carpeted rooms with the old straight-backed chairs. _I'm never going to make it!_ She ran up and glanced at the men running up behind her. They were just a few floors below her and were closing in. She had never been great at running but she managed to stay ahead of the soldiers. Mimi turned around and ran straight into a wall.

Tears streaked down her face, as she breathed to herself, "No! No! No!"

As a last desperate attempt to save herself, she shoved the wall as if it would suddenly swing open, but it did! _A secret passage!_ After she sent one last glance over glance over her shoulder she turned and dashed into the room and swung the wall shut. She stood there as the blackness enveloped her. Suddenly a low candle flickered to life, casting the room into a dim light. An old fat man stood near the candle, holding a flickering match. Mimi opened her mouth to scream but the old man quickly clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Be quiet! Are they gone?" he whispered.

She shook her head and he slowly removed his hand from her mouth. Mimi studied him for a second. He wore long green robes with white embroidery, the robes stretched over his large stomach and a small goatee hid his rather weak chin. The realization began to dawn upon her _he was the emperor!_ He didn't look like any of his ancestors. He wasn't paying much attention to Mimi but he had his ear pressed against the wall. Mimi listened hard too; she heard the faint footsteps of the men who had chased her here. She heard the scuffling of feet and the soft orders being given out. She turned away from the wall and glanced at the emperor's room. In the middle of the room stood a large white rug. On top of the rug stood a small polished, brown table with a bowl of chocolates on it. In the corner of the room stood the emperor's huge four-poster bed. It had bright red hangings with gold tassels that caused tiny little lights to dance across the room. Two cushy armchairs were seated around the table. A small library took up one side of the room. It contained many books of all sizes and colours. The emperor still had his ear pressed against the wall. One question stayed in Mimi's mind, _why would they lock him up in here? _

He turned to her and whispered, "they are gone." He sighed with relief. "I am Gennai, (A/N: sorry I know that he doesn't look much like Gennai but I wanted to put Gennai in the story) the emperor of Aramarne."

"I am Mimi Tachikawa. Why did they lock you up in here?" asked Mimi.

"You are the daughter of one of the Grand Council elders, are you not? I am old and I know too much. The Grand Council believes that I will upturn Aramarne and bring the city to its knees with my beliefs that the whole of Aramarne should be equal. The Council elders believe that with no districts there shall be know control. Nobody would strive harder to do better to get promoted to the next district. With no one trying to do better, Aramarne will be weak," said Gennai and the snorted, "the elders are unaware that Aramarne is weak already. Look how easy it was for the Mastery to take over. I understand that everyone was busy with the festival but they should have expected an attack from the Mastery." He turned his eyes sadly to the only window in his room. The window allowed him to watch over Aramarne.

"The Mastery?" asked Mimi

"The Mastery is as old as Aramarne its self. Their leaders are cruel tyrants whose sole purpose is to rule the entire world. You have come to me! You are Aramarne's last hope, you must save us all!" cried Gennai

Mimi gave him a bewildered look. "What are you talking about old man?" she snapped, " I cannot save Aramarne! You go save Aramarne! What can I do against one of the most powerful civilizations in the world! I cannot take on an entire empire!"

"Don't be ridiculous! You came to me, this means that you are the one to save us all, you are Aramarne's last hope!" said Gennai stubbornly. He got up and walked towards the library and pulled out a thick orange book. He opened it and my muttering to himself he found a page and tore it out. He examined it excitedly and then handed it to Mimi.

"Here is the map that will lead you straight into the heart of the Mastery's empire. Take it and go, the army of the Mastery is going to burn down the palace soon!" said Gennai quickly.

Mimi gaped at him, "How do you know that they are going to burn the castle?"

"I just know," replied Gennai.

He handed her a bow and some arrows. He then hunted underneath his bed and handed her a sword in a lime green sheath. She was about to pull out the sword to examine it but Gennai pushed her hands away. "No time now, look at it later, go now! You must go fast!'

Mimi was still in shock from receiving the weapons but was about to argue. The look in the old man's face made her stop. She suddenly felt the over powering need for revenge, revenge for the suffering of Takeru, Hikari, Taichi, her parents…. She gripped the map tightly and put the bow across her body and hung the tube with arrows on her shoulder. She attached the belt with the sword sheath around her hip as the smell of smoke filled the air.

"How are we supposed to get out of here?" asked Mimi.

Gennai shook his head, "not we just you. You have to do this by yourself. I am too old to come with you and my time is up." He let off a racking cough, "hurry the fire is approaching and it is becoming uncomfortably hot in here." Mimi gave him one last smile and reached for the window.

"When you reach the Mastery, you will know how to save us!" called Gennai.

Mimi hoped onto the ledge and peered down. A group of soldiers stood behind the gate. She looked into the eyes of the army commander as he yelled out orders. The whole population of Aramarne stood behind him, watched carefully by the soldiers. She shivered as she stared into those icy blue eyes. She would never forget those eyes and she would hunt them down till the end of the earth. _Revenge. _She turned to look into Gennai's room for one last time but he was gone and the flames were already licking the door. The smoke poured out of the room, suffocating her. She slowly climbed down from one ledge to the other, trying not to concentrate on the immense heat surrounding her. She tried to put her foot down on the next ledge but the ledge crumbled. She tumbled down to the ground and hit her head against the debris caused by the soldiers. She tried to concentrate on the blurry back round but everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! The couples will be revealed in the later chapters! Please leave a review in your way out! (Goes down on her knees and begs) :D

Disclaimer: I do not own the Wind Singer Trilogy or digimon.

Chapter 3

Taichi sighed as he felt a small tug on his hands. The course brown rope pulled him up. The rope cut into his skin, causing the raw wounds to burn. He cried out in pain as the ropes tugged harder. It had been two days since the city of Aramarne had been captured by the Mastery. His once glowing white robes were torn and muddy. He was hardly recognizable and no one would be able to tell that this was once the handsome, rich boy poised to inherit his family's vast fortune. Taichi glanced back at his parents who were being shepherded forward by the soldiers. The whole populations of Aramarne were seated on uncomfortable rocks on the barren mountains a short way from the devastated city of Aramarne. They had been continuously walking and several people had collapsed on the way and were unable to regain consciousness. The soldiers had just cut the ropes binding the people and just left the bodies to rot in the blazing sun.

Taichi spotted Mimi's parents ahead of him in the line. The soldiers were shoving them, roughly forward. The soldiers were growing very impatient with the stubborn couple. There was much talk about leaving the couple behind. Grand council member Sakura Tachikawa (A/N: sorry but I don't know the names of any of the digidestined's parents) was bent down in agony of walking those many miles, her once proud stance, slaking. She scowled at the passing soldiers. Taichi wondered if Mimi was still alive, it was terrible that they had just been united but cruel fate had ripped their short reunion apart. Mimi's parents were convinced that Mimi had managed to escape but Satome Tachikawa got up in the middle of the night yelling for his daughter. The soldiers quickly shut him up. Taichi turned away from the Tachikawas as Sakura snapped at a group of grays that offered her some water. The blazing hot sun burnt the back of their necks.

They were all tied together and were being led into the center of the Mastery's vast empire. The terrible son of the tyrant king Ishida had destroyed the city and the livelihood of the people of Aramarne. There was no way to escape this torture, many had tried to escape but they were shot down or brought back and then punished. Taichi's sandals had worn through so the rocky mountains cut into his feet. He winced with every step he took; the thorny, parched plants of the mountains tore at his clothes so he was relieved when the soldiers decided to stop for the night. Every evening the people of Aramarne would gather around the campfire to discuss their various escape theories. Aramarne did not have a large population but it was still hard to keep the entire city in check. As a result of this the cities were split in to groups. Takeru and Hikari were in the group that was led by Yamato Ishida. Taichi's parents, Hiroshi and Reiko, Satome, Sakura and Taichi were in another group that was led by a maroon-haired captain. That night their group held their annual meeting around the campfire.

"Knock them out when they aren't looking and steal their horses and supplies!" cried an old man dressed in tattered scarlet robes.

"With what?" asked Sakura coldly, "We are helpless and starving, the Mastery soldiers are trained, we may have quantity but they have quality." She glanced at the soldiers surrounding the camp; "they will rip us up into little pieces and throw our remains to the birds! They are merciless and we won't be forgiven easily if we rebel now."

" Then what do you suggest we do, council-member Tachikawa, if I remember correctly you got us into this mess, why weren't there more sentries on watch?" asked the old man acidly.

Sakura flushed but seeing her friend's face Reiko immediately added, "would you sacrifice a night of enjoyment? Would you volunteer to take the sentry duty? The festival of Jinkara is for everyone to enjoy. Nobody should be left out of the festivities and if I remember correctly weren't you opposed to the idea of sentry duty?" Sakura shot Reiko a grateful smile and the old man clamped his mouth shut.

"Don't worry, we are not doomed," said a mysterious lady robed in orange. "I see a light which will save all of Aramarne, our faith lies in her hands."

"How do you know that?" a middle-aged maroon man questioned.

"I just know." Saying that she rose and left the campfire circle. There was a small pause and the group burst into arguments once more. Taichi rubbed his temple; he was starting to get a headache. This arguing was getting them nowhere. He got up and left the group. Nobody as much as glanced up as he left, they were all too involved in their heated debate. He glanced up at the harsh desert surroundings and spotted the leader of their group on top of a purple crag. His Armour shone dully in the moonlight. Taichi debated with himself whether he should approach him or not. Coming to an agreement with himself he boldly approached the maroon-haired commander and planted himself next to him. The man did not acknowledge his presence but continued to stare up into the sky.

"How much longer until we reach the capital?" asked Taichi.

"Three to four days at least," came the man's gruff reply. "It would usually take longer but for some strange reason the plane tribes have abandoned their usual tribal-wars."

"I am Taichi Yagami," offered Taichi and he held out his hand. The man took it with a strong grip.

"I am Daisuke Motomiya," said the man. He sat down and gestured for Taichi to do the same. There was an awkward silence before Taichi asked Daisuke about his upbringing. Daisuke revealed that his real parents abandoned him; they were apart of a desert tribe. "My sister and I were taken in by King Ishida's advisor. He trained me and soon I was able to reach the ranks of captain in the Mastery's army. My friendship with prince Yamato has grown since then and now I am his most trusted advisor. My sister is about your age and she has a huge crush on prince Yamato but she will never admit it," he smirked. The conversation flowed easily from then on. Soon it started to become very late, Daisuke let out a huge yawn and then turned to Taichi.

He smiled, " I have enjoyed talking to you." His smile suddenly turned into a frown, " I shouldn't be talking to you, you are our captives."

" You enjoyed talking to me so why cant you?" Taichi burst out. " It is unfair that we can't be friends."

" Life isn't fair and we all have to do things we don't want to. That's how life works," stated Daisuke wisely, " but I think we can still be friends. Friends?"

Asked Daisuke as he stuck out his hand.

"Friends," agreed Taichi and he gripped Daisuke's forearm.

* * *

"Its such a beautiful night" said Takeru wistfully. " I would be enjoying myself if there weren't ropes binding my wrists" whispered Takeru. 

"At least I am tied to you," whispered Hikari. Their group had not yet reached the crags and was lagging behind on the planes. The bitter winds scraped their cheeks and pounded in their ears. Hikari winced lightly in pain. Their leader, Yamato Ishida had comfortably pitched a tent (or got someone to do it for him) and was sleeping in comfort. The guards outside his tent scowled at anyone who dared approach it. Mimi was still missing and there were no signs that she was in any of the other groups. Takeru shot his father a reassuring smile. The windswept man gave Takeru and Hikari a sad smile and continued arranging his bed. Takeru glanced around and the sudden realization hit him like a ton of bricks. His heart skipped a beat his mother wasn't with them! _I can't believe I haven't noticed this earlier_. He felt a fresh surge of guilt; he loved his mother very much. He hoped that she was doing well and had not met the same fate as Mimi. With those last thoughts he fell asleep curling one arm around Hikari's shoulder.

The group woke up to find the harsh rays beating down on them. The soldiers paraded around in their uniforms, prodding them awake. They tied everyone's wrists with thick, course rope. A short boy with brown hair took a place behind Takeru. He had a quiet smile and sad eyes. He introduced himself to Takeru as Cory Hida and explained that he was a scarlet.

"My name is Takeru Takaishi," said Takeru softly, "I was an orange and this is my good friend Hikari Yagami, she was a white." Hikari leaned over Takeru to wave to Cody. He returned it with a small smile.

Cody scanned their surroundings and lifted a sunburned hand to point to the mountains in the distance. "I expect the other groups have already reached there, we are way behind the rest."

"Where are your parents?" asked Takeru.

"My parents died when I was young so I was raised by my grandfather, he is in one of the other groups." Said Cory as Takeru nodded sympathetically. He could never imagine his life without his parents.

The soldiers tugged on the ropes causing everyone to stumble forward. Yamato Ishida signaled for the group to start moving. Takeru's stomach rumbled loudly in protest as they marched forward. They had got no breakfast. _I bet the soldiers had large breakfasts_, grumbled Takeru. His mouth was parched and dry and his legs started to feel like jelly, like it was not possible for them to carry his weight anymore. He could no longer carry on like this, marching like a herd of animals with no food, no water or any relief from the heat. His temple throbbed as sun gleamed in the ever-blue sky. Hikari let out a small moan as the sharp ropes cut into her shin rubbing them raw. She looked even more frail and fragile than ever. She gave a loud racking cough as Cody stumbled over a small stone and fell down flat on his face. He just lay there panting, inhaling the dusty, parched air. The whole line stopped and many people behind him poked their heads out to investigate the disturbance. A soldier riding a fat, brown horse came riding forward, the animal imitating his master, wore a highly unpleasant look on his face. Takeru quickly scrambled to his knees and tugged on Cody, trying to get him to stir.

"Just leave me here," panted Cody.

"No! Just get up," begged Takeru.

"What's the holdup?" called a cold demanding voice that sent shivers down Takeru's spine. Yamato Ishida had arrived on the scene on his sleek white horse. "No! No! No!" moaned Takeru as Yamato approached them.

"This boy refuses to get up my lord," said unpleasant-horse man. "What should we do about him?"

Yamato prodded Cody with his sword; the boy flinched but did not get up. Yamato stared at him coldly and said in an emotionless voice, "kill him."

"No!" yelled Takeru. He heard several gasps form down the line, the most prominent from Hikari. "Let him go! He will get up, just don't kill him!" cried Takeru. Yamato turned slowly to face Takeru, wearing an ugly expression. Takeru felt his hear thud against his chest as Yamato's cold blue eyes met Takeru's warm blue ones. Yamato stood there for a few seconds before very softly saying, "fine, get the boy up and be quick about it, we cannot afford anymore delays."

Takeru's mouth dropped open in surprise but he did not hesitate to pull Cody up. Cody stared at Takeru in shock but reached out and pulled him into a hug.

He whispered a thank you and Takeru gave him a broad smile in return. Takeru felt a pair of small hands wrap themselves up his waist, he sighed _Hikari._

In the front of the line a soldier asked Yamato, "Sir if I may be so bold, why did you allow that boy to live?"

"I don't know," muttered Yamato as he glanced back at Takeru surrounded by many people giving him their congratulations. "Now lets move," snapped Yamato.

"Sir," obliged the soldier, saluting Yamato. He turned back and yelled and the group to continue moving.

Meanwhile, back in the debris that was once the grand city of Aramarne, someone stirred.

A/N: hehe Yamato isn't so mean anymore is he? Please leave a review on the way out. I think you know how to do it, click on the box bellow and click on give a review, that's easy now isn't it:D


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone here's another chapter! A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed I really really appreciated it. All your questions will be answered just keep reading and reviewing! Jyourakoumi technically you did leave me a review, next time just don't bother to leave anything! Thanks.

Disclaimer: I do not own digimon or the wind singer trilogy.

Chapter 4

The sharp sunlight pierced the eyes of the only living human in the ruins of Aramarne. Mimi stirred and slowly lifted herself up. She was partially covered in debris but she shoved it off. She surveyed herself in disgust; her once snow-white robes were torn and covered in dust. She batted her robes in an attempt to neaten her appearance but only managed to cause a large cloud of dust to explode from her robes. She started coughing and then doubled over, her nose touching the ground. She turned her head to face the blinding, cloudless sky. Aramarne was in a very dry place and it was very rare to see rain here. Rain in Aramarne was a cause for celebrations as they hardly got by with the water they did have. Luckily there was an underground river flowing through a long tunnel under Aramarne. The many caverns down there led to the mountains.

Mimi pondered, _I wonder if any of the others made it to the river. _She stood up and the started walking towards what was once her house. She paused for a moment to pick up her bow and arrows and her sword, the final gifts from the emperor of Aramarne. Tears filled Mimi's eyes as she thought of the fate of the emperor, her parents, Taichi, Hikari, Takeru and the others. _I cannot believe that such misfortune has befallen Aramarne. _Tears leaked down her cheeks but she rubbed them away, _I must be strong for everyone._ She let out a deep sigh and then walked towards her house, she followed a twisted alley, pass all the burnt and ravaged houses to reach the front door.

She couldn't help it; she let out a loud, uncontrollable sob and flopped down onto the road.

She couldn't believe that the charcoal-black house in front of her had been her home for her entire life. She had grown up here, played with Taichi and Koushiro on this very street, gossiped with Hikari on the bench across her house. The grand white mansion had been destroyed, the beautiful mahogany doors burnt to crisp. She gave out a shuddering gasp and tried to pull herself together. She slowly walked in a trance-like state towards the mansion.

She stepped through the blackened doors and looked in dismay at her surroundings. All their possessions, all their hard work; destroyed or stolen. She gazed around and put her pale hand on the stair railing. Just a few days ago she had been walking down these stairs to greet her parents. She began to pull herself up the stairs towards her room. She took a step back and blinked, all of her possessions were gone except a few robes and a smashed picture frame lying next to the empty bed-frame. She picked up the picture; it was of her, Taichi, Koushiro and Hikari. She remembered that day; their parents had begged them to sit still for one painting. Mimi smiled, after all the fighting for the painting, Mimi got keep it. She bent down and hunted for a sack, she felt something rough, so she pulled it out. It was raggedy-brown sack _this will have to do._ She laid her weapons on the floor carefully. She pulled out a few robes, pulling one over her and stuffing the rest into the bag. She picked up the small painting and put that in the bag too. She took one last glance at her room after she picked up her weapons and then walked down the stairs and straight out the door. She turned around to look at her house one last time before she set out on her journey, her quest to avenge Aramarne. It had been the emperor's last request; the least she could do was to obey it. She felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness as she bent her head down, scrapping her feet set off to the gates of Aramarne.

Still looking down, she bumped her head into the wall. She looked up and followed the wall up to a watchtower. She had already reached the gates; she shuffled forward and peered out at the planes and the setting sun. The sky was streaked with pink, purple and orange and the clouds moved forward with the strong winds pushing them. Mimi spotted the purple mountains in the distance with a thin line of smoke rising up from them. _That must be the army of the Mastery they are at the mountains_ confirmed Mimi. She smirked, they didn't know about the underground river, by following it she could reach the mountains in half the time they did. She laughed to herself, _the idiots!_ She thought savagely. She felt so happy that she was going to meet up with the others soon that she started sprinting towards the river. She stopped at the council's tower, this was where her mum worked and it was now in ruins. The door was jammed so she kicked it open. Sunlight came pouring into the dark room. She walked cautiously into the room; she did not have a torch so she was enveloped in darkness. She stumbled forward blindly; only sheer determination drove her forward. The darkness compressed her as she walked quietly down the corridor. The silence was deafening, suddenly she tripped and lurching forward she rolled down a long staircase. Finally she hit a door that stopped her. She pressed her ear to the door and heard the rush of the river.

Mimi immediately leapt up and grabbed the door and started tugging at the door, _the river!_ She continued tugging hard with all her might but the door was jammed tight. Nobody comes down here much so the door is not used very frequently. She finally gave up and leaned back onto the door, panting hard. Her stomach growled as her hunger began to set in. This was the only way to get to the others and this door was the only way to get to the river. Tears began to prick in the corners of Mimi's eyes _I cannot give up now_. Her stomach gave another lurching growl as it hit her she hadn't eaten anything in so long! The empty feeling in her stomach made her feel so sick. Her head drooped onto her shoulder. She was so tired and so lethargic. Her eyes started to close… _oh no, not again! _She couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. They slowly closed as she heard footsteps approaching her, she tried staying awake but she couldn't feel anything anymore.

* * *

Daisuke stepped up onto a large rock, a bitter smile twisted on his face as he surveyed the grand city that was the heart of the Mastery. Thick walls surrounded it, fortifying it. Inside the walls a gigantic army stood at the gates ready to march out and conquer another empire. Daisuke signaled to Taichi and he nodded and called out for everyone to move on. Daisuke smiled, Taichi had been a great help and a great friend through out this trip. He even helped Daisuke control his own people! _I have to ask for him to work for me._ It saddened Daisuke greatly to see Taichi bend low as a slave. 

Taichi walked up to Daisuke, "we are ready to move out Daisuke."

Daisuke nodded and pointed at the city, "this is my home, isn't it grand?"

Taichi nodded but a dark look passes over his face. Daisuke clamped his mouth close in understanding. He would have preferred if Taichi's first glimpse of his beautiful home had not been as a prisoner. Daisuke had grown to trust Taichi, he only trusted a few people in his life Yamato, his sister, the king's adviser and now Taichi. Even though he has only known Taichi for a few days, he felt as though Taichi would risk his life for him and he would do the same for Taichi. A soldier with a dappled gray horse nodded to Daisuke and put his hand up in the air and yelled for everyone to start marching. He jumped onto his sleek, black horse and began trotting forward. Everyone marched down the mountains with difficulty because their hands were tied and the mountain path was twisting, narrow and steep. It was a long walk down the tree-less mountain path to the large brown gates. There was a loud, whipping noise as the soldiers on the other side of the gates whipped the horses to pull the gates forward (A/N: like in King Arthur). The people of Aramarne marched right into the gates of the doom. The city was grand enough and had no classes. The outskirts had small but neatly kept houses. Then came many grand houses of assorted sizes. Taichi stared ahead and spotted a gigantic white citadel. There were many grand houses near the citadel, which signaled that that was where the castle officials stay. Past the citadel stood a large calm river. A huge bustling port stood at that end with large brown docks and grand ships that were readying themselves for trade and empire expansion. The people of Aramarne however did not head for the city center but turned left and headed for a group of warehouses.

Daisuke stopped and addressed the crowd, "this will be your homes for the rest of your lives. You will be distributed through out the entire city and put to work. Some might work in the castle, some might become cooks and cleaners for all the people living in these houses and if you are strong enough and up to the standards of the Mastery army you will be forced to join. You may not disobey anyone's orders the penalty will be death. Now get into the warehouses, a person will be along soon to assign you to your posts," said Daisuke.

They shuffled forward into the warehouses. Sakura gave a loud angry sniff, "a Tachikawa never bends so low as to do a slaves job," she said indigently.

Satome quickly hushed her, "its best to do as they say, dear."

Sakura couldn't take it anymore and burst into tears, Reiko put her arm around her. A hard-faced man walked in and walked up to Taichi, "name and qualifications please," he asked Taichi.

Taichi sighed, _and so it has begun._

A/N: and now you know what to do **leave a review!** :D


	5. Chapter 5

Here's another one for the Mastery! Sorry for the age long wait! Thanks a lot for everyone who reviewed! I am eternally grateful to you all! ;D hehe thanks a lot wouldn't be doing this without your support so I need those reviews so keep them coming! Recently though I've been scared of opening reviews because I'm scared they might be bad!

Disclaimer: I do not own digimon or the Wind singer trilogy.

Chapter 5

Yamato stirred as a rather ugly soldier with a large bulbous nose stuck his head pass the white flaps of his tent. He scowled at the soldier who winced in response. "Sir we are almost at the capital, I thought I should tell you so we could continue," said the soldier in a thick voice.

Yamato gave the soldier an icy glare causing him to yelp and sprint away from the tent. _Insufferable man!_ _I should see that he receives twenty whips for waking me at such an un-earthly hour. _He couldn't help noting that the soldier was right so he forced himself out of the rough makeshift bed. He pulled on his clothes and armor. As he was adjusting his breastplate another soldier poked his head into the tent. Yamato glared at him causing the soldier to gulp but his gaze didn't waver.

"Sir a girl from Aramarne wishes to see you sir," said the soldier. Yamato blinked in surprise but said in an emotionless voice, "send her in."

The soldier nodded and left the tent. Yamato seated himself comfortably on a cushion and waited for the girl to arrive. A pretty girl dressed in dusty white robes entered the tent. Her chocolate-brown eyes faced the ground as she hid behind her short brown hair. She just stood there for several minutes, shuffling her feet. Her eyes did not leave the ground. Yamato stared at her when she looked up. She mimiced a deer caught in a spotlight. She began to wiggle uncomfortably under his fierce gaze. He finally coughed and her head snapped up.

"What can I do for you girl?" he questioned.

"Um… I j-just… um…. Want-ted t-to…" she stammered, "um… t-to th-thank you for sparing Iori and Takeru." She rushed out the last part of the sentence in one clumsy breath.

Yamato raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "why did you feel the need to thank me, I just didn't want to lose too many slaves."

Hikari's face fell at those words and Yamato felt a strong surge of guilt. He sat there and attempted to stare her down but the girl met him head on. Yamato coughed and pointed to the cushion opposite him. Hikari sat down cautiously wondering if he was going to behead her himself. "I didn't mean to sound so harsh girl. What is your name?" asked Yamato pleasantly as if they were having a light chat over tea.

"Hikari," gulped Hikari, "my name is Hikari Yagami," she finished softly but confidently.

Yamato's lips curled into a wry smile, "it was very brave of you to thank me, I am impressed," complimented Yamato. "Even my own soldiers cant look me in the eye but you can. I admire courage in a person"

Hikari flushed with pleasure and went on to fiddle with the edge of the cushion. "Th-thank you," smiled Hikari. "Can I ask you a question?" she asked boldly.

Yamato nodded wondering what Hikari had on her mind. Hikari cleared her throat, "well why?" Yamato looked blank so Hikari continued, "why do you do this? Destroy the lives of hundreds of innocent people just to fulfill the selfish needs of one man."

Yamato was not sure whether to treat this question with anger or care. He calmed down and started in a low voice, "it is not my choice to make. Of course I want the empire I serve to grow, to be the best it can be, everybody who serves the master wants the mastery to grow. My father issues the commands I just follow them. It is my fate, my destiny to rule the greatest empire in the world. It has been fore told that I will be one of the greatest people in history. My father and I haven't always been very close so above all else, above all the power, I just want to make my father proud and happy. Is it so wrong to try and make your father pleased with you, to see him smile when he says your name?"

"So? That still doesn't justify the killing of so many! My parents, my friends, my brother all dead or slaves? This is not the life I want for them, the life they want for themselves. It is horrible that they should be resigned to this fate when they haven't done anything to hurt you or your father!" cried Hikari bitterly.

Yamato's face turned a deep red. "So? How is that my problem? All I want is for my life to be the best. Why should I save hundreds of people I don't know or care about? My life is more important than any strangers, remember that, now leave!" said Yamato coldly.

Hikari frowned but got up from her cushioned seat. She bowed low and walked out of the tent. She quickly popped her head back in the tent and said quietly, "thank you again lord Yamato, I am still grateful to you."

She hurried away and Yamato stared after her. He was still shocked that this mere girl did not fear the Great War lord and soon to be the ruler of the greatest empire ever seen. He smiled though, he liked this girl and she had the fight in her that he never had. He must request to his father, the master, for this girl to work for him. _I wonder who her_ _brother and parents are, I'm sure if they were here they would have never let her see me. _He was however glad that she did.

He sighed and pushed himself up, dragging his body out of the tent. Several soldiers surrounded him, awaiting his orders. He watched the surroundings for a few seconds before opening his mouth to bellow, "come on, it's time to move out!" A grim look took over his face as he spotted a thin line of smoke that signaled the entry to the Mastery. Here he rode home, to his waiting father.

"Miss… miss, wake up miss… I have some food for you… you must be famished! Eat up, regain your health… miss… miss, wake up!" came a gentle voice. Mimi felt someone slapping her face lightly. She let out a small groan and with all her remaining strength she raised her head of the soft ground. Her eyelids fluttered open and her vision came into focus. She saw a woman with long matted brown hair that desperately needed a good brushing. The woman smiled revealing yellowing teeth; her skin was brown with mud and dust. Mimi smiled as she heard the rushing of the river she had made it! "Well you gave us quite a fright there miss, you were out for a long time. We got you some food, why its not that often that we get visitors form the above, actually you're the first in a very long time. My, my you're all skin and bones, you need some fattening up, yes you do miss," said the lady clucking like a mother hen.

Mimi gave a weak smile and croaked, "water, some water please."

The woman nodded, "knew that you'd be wanting some, asked Frig to bring some, didn't I now? Oh my! I didn't introduce myself did I miss? Well I'm Swell and this be Frig," said the lady gesturing to the silent man who looked like her. They wore brown robes and he too had filthy matted hair. Frig handed Swell a cup made of mud that was filled to the brim with water. While Swell fussed over her, Mimi eyed the mud-plate of food next to her. Swell caught her gaze and picked up the plate and shoved it onto her lap. Mimi didn't care what it was but shoveled the food into her mouth as fast as she could.

"So honey, you didn't quite tell us where you're from, did she Frig?" Swell didn't wait for Frig to answer but continued chattering, "As I might have said before, we don't get many outsiders down in our humble home. Actually I though that many of the aboves might have forgotten the way down here. Care to tell us what you're doing here miss and why you were tugging on our door with all you damned might?"

Mimi's mouth was filled with food so she quickly gulped it down. "Aramarne was destroyed and it's people taken as slaves. I'm trying to find the find of the Mastery so I can find and rescue my people. Could you please help me find the exit of this tunnel?" asked Mimi in a low voice.

"Mighty task for a tiny titch like you. Never did like 'em aboves," said Frig bitterly.

Swell clicked her tongue and pulled Mimi to her feet. She gave Mimi a bright smile and began tugging her down the corridor. Mimi turned to survey her surroundings. The long mud tunnels twisted and turned round the corner. Running along the path on which Frig, Swell and Mimi were following was a gushing river. Even though the tunnel was filthy the river carried crystal clear water. Frig walked in front of Swell and Mimi carrying a burning torch, leading the way and providing the only light in the dark, musty tunnel. Beside Mimi Swell gasped, "oh my! How rude of me, giving my pardons miss! I never did ask your name!"

Mimi said quietly, "My name is Mimi Tachikawa."

Swell grinned then shrieked and pointed, "and you're a white too, how grand! Well she's beautiful ain't she beautiful Frig?"

Frig nodded slowly in front of Mimi and Swell. Mimi stared at them curiously; she never asked them what their story is. "If I may ask what, what are you doing down here?"

For the first time since they met swell's smile faded and a bitter look replaced it. "Ah miss what you wish to here is a sad, sad story indeed. Our people were once a part of Aramarne, we were known as the brown class. I know our class was the lowest of the lowest, a class that and to do the cleaning of the cleaners. It was a terrible bitter life; we were treated with disdain with everyone. The council elders finally got tired of us and sent us to live down here. This is our punishment for being something we can't control, being born into a poor home. So here we live, there are many others here other than Frig and myself. They are out hunting while Frig and I stayed behind to care for you."

Mimi listened to the story with a bitter taste in her mouth. She felt a hot swoop of anger as she cursed the people who created classes in Aramarne. "If I could meet them council elders I would give them a damn piece of my mind," said Frig spitting bitterly on the ground.

Mimi flushed as she remembered that her mother was a council member, not just a council member but also a member of the grand council. They were probably the ones who cast these people to the bowels of the caves. The company walked in silence form then on. Even swell remained quiet, all enthusiasm lost since she had told her story. They soon spotted a small light in the distance it was the exit. Frig fumbled with the torch and almost dropped it. A very distracted Swell began scolding him and explaining the horrible consequences of traveling through the tunnels without a light to guide them. "Well miss this is the exit. We'll be saying our goodbyes now wont we Frig? We'll be needed back in the mud village; everyone will be home by now. It was good meeting you miss. Hope you manage to find our people, well not save you're people really… but have a nice journey anyway."

Mimi chose to ignore the fact that Swell wished ill fortune on all her people and walked out into he sunlight. Mimi turned around to see Swell and Frig watching her leave. "Goodbye miss!" called Swell while Frig nodded trying to look inconspicuous.

Mimi gave them a bright smile and called out to them, "please Swell, call me Mimi."

Swell nodded and yelled, "goodbye and good luck Mimi." With that Mimi walked away taking a step closer to her destiny.

A/N: so what did you think? Hehe we saw a softer side of Yamato in this chapter! He's not the baddie any more is he? Ken and Sam will come in the next episode! Well I'd like some awesome reviews just for me! Hehe most important better leave some! Thanks for all your support and sorry for the short chapter! Writing a new chapter for this! Don't worry I'll update counter strike next and then I'll try and finish dare night :D


	6. Chapter 6

Here's a new chapter! Listen I've been getting major hits for this story but no ones actually reviewing so please review! I'm not getting as many reviews as I would have hoped so please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or the Wind singer Trilogy.

Chapter 6

Mimi had just stepped out of the dim cave, she turned to see if she could spot Swell and Frig, but they were gone. There was no reassurance from the cold dark cave but Mimi heartily wished that she was still with Swell and Frig, they might need a bath but they were really nice. _Closer and closer_ shuddered Mimi her destiny was awaiting her. She pulled out her sword and held it at a ready grip; she could be attacked at any moment. She turned around and focused on the giant plains and gasped; they went on for miles and miles stretching out before her. There were a few trees here and there but that was it. There was no other foliage to protect her form the blazing sun. She groaned, she was not up to walking for ages, but it hit her that she didn't. The mountains were to her right and Swell had handed her some food to take on her quest. The sun was nearing the mountains to set but the heat was still incredible. Yellow grass, prickly and tall covered the entire plains.

Mimi scanned the horizon and noticed a couple of large undistinguishable things. They looked like tents but they were gigantic. She immediately presumed that was where the tribes made camp. They weren't at war currently or they had just finished a battle and thinking of the next move, either way it was currently safe for Mimi to cross. If they were at war then the plains would be impossible to cross. With luck she could creep through the plains unnoticed. It must have been very difficult for the army of the Mastery to cross through, but the tribes must fear the Mastery or they wouldn't have let such a big company go unnoticed. _The foolish mastery must have taken six days to cross the plains because they took the long route but I shall only take two to three days! _ Mimi gave herself a triumphant smile as she gloated to herself.

Mimi suddenly remembered Koushiro and wondered how he had fared in the plains. Which way did he go and where would he be right now? On some far away exotic land that nobody has heard of? She frowned and wondered if he met any ill fortune, she prayed with all her might that wherever he was that he was safe and happy. Did he think of her often? She couldn't think of Koushiro right now, she had a long walk ahead of her and a big decision to make: should she begin walking now because it would soon be nightfall. Mimi sighed she had to press on, there's no time left. So she leapt down from her perch on the rocks and onto the endless plains. The grass pricked her and her ankles began to bleed but she ignored the pain. She trudged on and tried to make as little noise as possible. The harsh winds swept through the plains and stung her face. She didn't cry out in pain, she couldn't risk getting caught as the plains were the property of the tribes and entering them would be a death wish. She glanced at the mountains continuously for reassurance, a few hours passed and the sun began to set. She decided to stop for the night so she settled on a bed of soft heather. She unwrapped the food that she was given by Swell and Frig and remembered them fondly. She twisted and turned; it was freezing, until she got comfortable then closed her eyes.

A loud animal cry caused Mimi to wrench herself awake a few hours later. She looked from side to side, a feeling of fear flooding her entire body. The cry came again and this time it was closer. She crept behind a rock and leaned against the rock. She pulled her sword to her side and held it ready, she had never killed anything before in her life but now she was ready. She heard some shuffling form behind the rock so she jumped up and pushed her sword forward.

The cry came again from behind the rock. She peeked over the rock and spotted a giant eagle a short distance away. Its large golden eyes traced the surroundings searching for something, was it for her? Her heart began thudding against her chest. She felt faint and her throat became dry, nothing gave her any relief from the fear she was feeling. There was denying that the eagle was beautiful with its gorgeous glossy feathers. Its shiny beak and claws looked menacing enough however. The bird was huge about the size of two fully-grown men. She couldn't tell if the bird was a friend but she was willing to bet that it wasn't. The bird let another savage cry and spread its wings, they were huge and covered a huge distance form either side. Mimi shuddered, if it flew then it would surely see her, it probably already had from the air. It looked in either direction that caused Mimi to hurriedly duck behind the rock. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her back against the rock, she needed a stable back to give her comfort. She opened her eyes and peeked over the rock to see if she could spot the eagle, but it was gone. Even though it was night, the moon cast a bright enough light for her to see everything clearly enough, there was no mistaking it the eagle was gone. Mimi began to panic, where had the eagle gone? Her breaths came out short and raspy as she curled and uncurled her fists. She bent down again behind the rock and closed her eyes again. She knew that she should be happy that the eagle was gone but she couldn't believe that it had stopped searching. She had heard of legends of giant eagles that took the skies of the plains, but she never expected to see them during the night. Eagles were not the birds of prey that flew during the night, owls were and she hardly expected any to be here.

She opened her eyes only to see the eagle right in front of her. It blinked its large golden orbs and cocked its head to one side. Mimi froze as her heart hit her chest, it began to beat so hard that Mimi half-expected it to rip itself from her body. The colour drained form her face, this eagle could probably rip her apart in a second. She let out a helpless squeak but tried to muffle. The eagle opened its shiny beak and let out a monstrous cry. Mimi began to shiver; she jammed her eyes shut and began to pray to all the gods, known and unknown. Her hands began to move in awkward, twitchy, uncoordinated movements. Its malodorous breath hit her like a tank so she reeled back, jamming her back against the rock, praying that she could fall right through. The eagle spread its wings casting a dark shadow on Mimi. Mimi winced and covered her face; she felt its sharp claws wrap itself around her waist. Mimi squeaked and prepared herself for the worst. She felt herself being lifted off the ground.

She looked down and let out a shriek that echoed throughout the entire plain. A massive front of icy air hit her right in the face. She shivered and thanked the lord that she was still carrying her weapons. She could have cut herself free but it would be a long and painful fall back to earth. Then it hit her, why hadn't she used her weapons to kill the eagle in the beginning. She had been so overtaken with fear that she wasn't thinking logically. She groaned and stared at the plains that caused her to gasp. Seven more eagles had joined them, what were they going to do? All pick her apart? The eagles circled in the air and gently landed on the ground, by this time Mimi was absolutely numb with the cold. She just wished that she could die to get away form the suffering. Mimi let out a small grunt and curled up into a ball on the grass. The eagles didn't move for the next few minutes causing Mimi to glance up and catch the eagles staring into the distance. They seemed to be something and it did happen. Mimi noticed a couple of weirdly shaped spikes nearing the eagles, they stepped out of the grass and revealed themselves to be a group of rugged looking men and women carrying bloody spears. Mimi grew even more nervous so she focused on the leather boots of her captors.

A man began to prod her with the bottom of his spear causing Mimi to squeal loudly in protest. Their dirty leather clothes and hard expressions told her that they were probably a part of a plain-tribe. The people began to communicate with the eagles with crude hand gestures and loud squawks. Mimi moaned would anything surprise her today? The eagle cocked its head to one side as a man hugged the eagle that had brought her here. The man nuzzled the neck of the eagle before releasing it. The eagles let out a series of croons before lifting of the ground and heading to their roosting place in the mountains. "This one's out," said a stone-faced woman gesturing to a man lying on the ground who Mimi didn't notice before.

"Bring them all," instructed a tall man. The woman shrugged and pulled the man up and handed him to a broad shouldered man who hoisted him onto his shoulders. Mimi squealed as a man with a rough beard picked her up and slung her over his back. He growled so she clamped her mouth shut, she didn't want to put herself in any more danger than she already was. The gang of people began trudging north, Mimi frowned and this would surely delay her. Mimi fell asleep on the shoulder of her captor. The walk was along one and by the time she was rudely awakened the sky was beginning to lighten. The man shook her awake on his shoulders as he handed her to another man to carry, he was getting tired and they had reached the campsite. A series of small tents surrounded a single gigantic tent. It was huge and made put of animal skin, Mimi winced at the site of the skins and immediately began to feel nauseous. The camp had many of the necessary resources that the tribe needed to survive such as barrels that held their food and water and a tent dedicated to being an armory. Several campfires were still smoking as the people on watch sprinted to the neighboring tents to inform everyone of the arrival of the warriors. Boisterous yells informed the rest of the camp of their arrival. They were greeted with waves and smiles; Mimi's captor attempted a wave while struggling to hold Mimi up. _Why are they giving a group of warriors that had just gone out to bring a group of people to the camp such a royal greeting? _Pondered Mimi. They were now heading for the giant tent.

They entered the tent as Mimi turned her head to see what was awaiting her. The tent was lit with hundreds of lanterns illuminating the stuffy tent. Mimi scoffed; obviously these people don't care about fire hazards. Many piles of treasure were scattered around the tent, Mimi concluded that they had been taken from traveling caravans of rich lords and ladies and maybe even royalty. These tribes were pirates of the plains. At the end of the tent stood two rough chairs that Mimi assumed were thrones.

Two boys were seated on the thrones and the people around them only viewed them in fear. Why would so many strong and powerful men and women look at two mere boys in fear? One boy looked to be about her age maybe a year older and the second boy looked younger and seemed to be Hikari's age. The older boy looked power hungry and seemed to be savoring his place on the throne. The younger looked like he wished the earth would just swallow him up. He stared at the warriors that had just entered uncomfortably and then met Mimi's eyes but quickly looked away. They both had dark blur hair, the younger boys falling to his shoulders. Both of their cold features were refined. Even though they lived under the blazing heat of the plains, they had managed to retain their fair complexions and had not tanned as the rest of the tribe had. The older one sneered, finally meeting the eyes of the warriors and said in a cold voice, "So the warriors have returned form the battle against the tribe of the snake, so tell me how have you fared?"

Mimi gulped, she assumed that this was the tribe of the eagle; does this mean that giant snakes roam the plains too? Then she remembered the cheering the warriors had received_, so that's why they were greeted so warmly they had just returned from a battle!_ She shivered and the man who was carrying her seemingly got tired of carrying her and dropped her the matted floor. He opened his mouth and said in loud proud voice, "Oh great ones! We have defeated the enemies!"

The boy's smile grew even wider then he glanced at Mimi, she squirmed under his gaze "so you have brought prisoners too?"

"Bold Heart, Swift Wings and the others found them wandering the plains oh one great strength," said the man praising the boy at the same time.

"They have done well, as have you," said the boy, his expression softening at the mention of the eagles. He raised his voice to address the watching crowd, "we drink, feast and celebrate tonight my friends! Our warriors have done me proud and gained our tribe a great victory!"

A huge cheer erupted from the crowd; this tribe didn't seem worried about keeping a low profile, maybe because the other tribes feared them. The boy glanced at the younger boy. Who Mimi assumed to be his brother because of their resemblance, addressed his older brother in a low voice. The older boy snapped his head up and let out a cold laugh. He looked at Mimi and the rest of the captives and said, "welcome new comers to the tribe of the eagle, ruled by the most powerful man on the plains and the father of us, Sam and Ken Ichijoji."

A/N: so what do you think? If you read this chapter then you have to review! Please I will be eternally grateful :S So Mimi has met Ken and Sam… so what do you think is going to happen next?


	7. Chapter 7

No I'm not dead, sorry for the really long wait but I had so much school work to do and I was too lazy to update for a long time! Sorry I'll try to update as soon as possible. I've already started to write the next chapter and I'll try to finish dare night. So here's the latest chapter for the Mastery. A huge thanks to XangelqueenX, crest of music, White Moon Princess, mondo poodle, pacificmessygirl, My name is of no importance and Lady Something for your reviews! A special thanks to XangelqueenX, crest of music and Lady Something for your loyal reviews and to Little Lillymon even though you didn't review for the last chapter so please do for this one! A thanks to JyouraKoumi too because you didn't flame and don't worry Koushiro doesn't suck in this story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or the Windsinger Trilogy.

Chapter 7

"Taichi!" cried and ecstatic Hikari as she tugged Taichi into a hug. Reiko and Hiroshi Yagami also hugged Hikari, their family finally reunited after days of hardship separated from their kind, caring daughter. Sakura and Satome Tachikawa watched them apprehensively and hugged each other in support: Mimi was not in any of the groups. They desperately wanted to believe that their daughter was alive but it was becoming harder and harder. Hikari peeked over her father's shoulder and spotted Takeru with his father approaching a lady dressed in ragged orange robes. Relief swept over all their faces as they hugged similarly to Hikari's family. Hikari caught Takeru's eye and pulled away from the hug to lead her family over to Takeru's.

"Mother, Father, this is my good friend Takeru Takaishi," said Hikari. Her parents looked uncertain at first as Takeru was an orange but Reiko quickly gave Takeru a huge warm smile, "nice to meet you Takeru."

Takeru also smiled and introduced his parents to the group. While the parents exchanged pleasantries, Hiroshi suddenly cried out pointing at Takeru's mother, Akilah, "You were in our group right? You were that lady at the camp fire who said something about a light."

Akilah smiled, "yes I am a seer and I tend to make a lot of strange sounding predictions but most of the time they tend to come true, so relax we are not doomed the light of Aramarne will save us all."

Hiroshi and Reiko exchanged bewildered looks but Akilah refused to dwell upon the matter any further. Takeru turned and grinned at Taichi, "hello Taichi, where's Mimi?"

Taichi's expression turned stony, "she's not in any of the groups."

Takeru looked stricken, even though he had know Mimi only for a short time he had liked her a great deal, "so is she…?"

"The last I saw of her was her running towards the palace followed by a group of soldiers," said Taichi sadly.

"So she could be alive right?" asked Takeru hopefully. Taichi's expression lightened as he said softly, "we can only hope."

There was a silence between the three before Iori came bounding over to Takeru and Hikari. They introduced him to Taichi as Iori stared at him with open-mouthed awe. Apparently he went to the same school as Taichi at one point and Taichi was a legend there because of his wicked pranks. Rich scarlets could go to the same school as the whites. Hikari smiled at her brother and her friends before a man tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to face a grumpy impatient looking soldier with an angry look on being interrupted. The ragged-looking soldier just gave her a cold look before saying stoically, "name and qualifications please."

Hikari glared at him and began to open her mouth to say something before she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, it was Taichi. "Just do as they say Hikari," said Taichi calmly.

"But-"started Hikari.

"Just do it," interrupted Taichi. Hikari just cast him a worried look before turning around and unhappily obliging to the soldiers request all the while wondering what had caused her brother to change. Before he would have never been the submissive one, that was more her to be the quiet shy one in the family who always looked on the bright sides of things and depended on her brother to protect her. After the soldier had finished getting the names and qualifications of Iori and Takeru they moved onto the next group Taichi muttered something incoherent under his breath.

"What did you just say," questioned Hikari angrily.

"I said, I'm being made to join the Mastery army, it's my post just like mum has to become the housekeeper of some rich family and father is becoming a helper in the library. The soldiers gave us our jobs this morning when we arrived, we were lucky because we got better jobs than the rest because we got a better education than many of the other salves here" said Taichi gesturing to a group of miserable looking grays. He noticed how shocked Hikari looked so he cracked a weak smile, "it will be okay Hikari. I'll be fine, Daisuke has promised to look after us, he did try really hard to get me to work for him but they wanted me in the army. That's not good because I'll get treated really badly in the army because I'm a 'slave'," finished Taichi bitterly.

"Who is Daisuke," asked Hikari.

"He is the captain of the king's army and my friend," whispered Taichi as Hikari frowned.

"This is terrible big brother! I could lose you! What if you get killed by going on a dangerous raid with that stupid army? I can't manage without you! I need you here to help me but you can't do that if you're marching and killing and capturing innocent people!" cried Hikari stomping her foot on the thatched ground.

"Hikari," said Takeru softly wrapping an arm lightly around her to try and comfort her but she wrenched away from his grasp. "No let me go!" cried a very distraught Hikari. "I can't lose you big brother! I can't have you killing people! By doing that you are no better than that stupid king!"

Iori gasped and glanced around to see if anyone had heard them because if a soldier did then she would most definitely be punished. "Hush Hikari, everything will be all right," whispered Takeru in one last attempt to sooth her but she just let out a wail and started running towards the warehouse door. Taichi quickly grabbed her hand but she just faced him calmly and said in a shaky voice, her face blotchy from crying, "It's not okay and it'll never be."

She turned around and continued towards the door but this time Taichi made no attempt to grab her. She dashed towards the door dodging Satome Tachikawa as he tried to grab hold of her and ignoring the soldiers and her family's cries for her to come back. She just focused on the door and with a one track mind continued to sprint towards the door. She dashed past everyone, when she was determined no one could catch her. She didn't know why she was even heading for the door or what she was looking for. She pushed past the people crowding around the door and shoved the door open breathing in the fresh air. She felt free and happy to be away from that stuffy warehouse that held a large part of Aramarne. She spotted the gigantic white citadel and sprinted towards it. She didn't know what she was doing but like she ran for the door she ran to the citadel. She began to formulate a plan in her head. She would find Yamato though she had no clue on how she could find it but she didn't pause to figure out how, then she would convince him to do something so that Taichi wouldn't have to join the army. She just hoped he'd be able to do something but surely he would, after all Taichi is just one man and there are so many thousands more to take his place. One man wouldn't make a big difference to such a big army. She continued running now realizing that she didn't know how she would get past the citadel guards or convince Yamato to let Taichi go. She began to formulate an elaborate though a completely improbable one involving ropes, scaling the citadel and knocking out the guards as she ran down the winding streets. She just focused her eyes on the brilliant white citadel that stood like a beacon of hope to her.

The hundreds of houses flashed past her as she ran down the almost deserted streets, there were a few people out but didn't give her a second glance as they were too involved in their dealings to wonder what she was doing out on the streets at this hour. The only thing that lighted her path was the dim street lanterns. Her breath came out in short raspy pants. As she reached the richer section of the city but she did not slow her pace down. The houses here were three to four stories tall with wide back gardens. She whipped around the corner, whizzing around past a group of soldiers who fortunately didn't see her because they were too drunk to function. Hikari felt a sharp pain in her side as the cold wind stung her cheeks. She continued to point her face up towards the citadel, watching it carefully as it got closer.

She suddenly stumbled and fell but she pushed her hands out to prevent her from hitting the ground hard. Her hands buckled from exhaustion as if her body had just contemplated on how tired she was. She just lay flat on the ground not moving. She was just too weak to move so she let out long laborious breaths and curled up into the fetal position in the middle of the road.

"Excuse me miss, but are you alright?" came a kind deep voice. Hikari looked up and focused on a tanned man with wild maroon hair. He had deep brown eyes, a warm smile and handsome features. Hikari immediately began to sputter, "Um… I'm f-fine th-thanks."

The stranger gave her a puzzled smile but offered her a hand to get up. She stared at it as if unsure whether to trust the stranger but one look into his eyes she just knew she could. She took his hand and he pulled her off the road. She gave him a small smile but she was still really embarrassed at being caught in such an embarrassing situation by such a good looking stranger. "What's your name miss?" asked the man.

"Hikari Yagami," replied Hikari, "and you?"

"Captain Daisuke Motomiya," said Daisuke proudly bearing his title and puffing out his chest slightly to try and impress the slightly frail but pretty girl. He mulled over her name and them it suddenly hit him, "Yagami? Are you related to Taichi Yagami?"

"Daisuke? Oh yes Taichi is my brother, he's mentioned you, are you really his friend?" asked Hikari. Daisuke smiled and nodded, "I admire and trust your brother very much."

"Then can you do something to get him from joining the army? Please I'll do anything, I just don't want to lose him, I'll do anything," pleaded Hikari desperately, tears rolling down her cheeks, "I don't want to lose my big brother."

Daisuke looked uncomfortable and answered quietly, "I've done all I can but there's really nothing I can do. I'm really sorry Hikari but I just can't change the mind of the king's council. The king was the one who appointed the positions and they wouldn't dare appeal to him. I'm truly sorry, even I don't want him to join the army but I'll try to look after him the best I can."

Hikari nodded, he did sound really sorry but she suddenly remembered who she originally planned to talk to. She choked out, "there must be something you can do, can't you let me talk to Yamato?"

"Prince Yamato? How do you know him?" asked Daisuke curiously.

Hikari blanched, she doesn't even know Yamato that well. Now that she's come to her senses she really thought about his how did she actually expect to talk to him? Her stupid plan would have never worked. He probably forgot about her or if he did then it wouldn't be kindly. She sighed and decided to give up and accept fate. Daisuke watched her and felt really horrible inside that there was really nothing to do for Taichi. Hikari looked at his sincere expression and after a short pause she muttered, "never mind, I'll get back to the warehouse now and accept the consequences of my actions."

"I'll walk toy there," offered Daisuke, "I would also like to see Taichi." Hikari abandoned her forlorn expression for a smile and began to walk down the street with Daisuke in a comfortable silence. Hikari once again glanced at the handsome profile of the man next to her, realizing how safe she felt with him just like she did with Takeru…

* * *

Daisuke awoke with a small groan as a servant shook him gently awake and then left the room. He sat up in his plush red and gold bed; he had had a rough night: organizing the guards, escorting Hikari back to her family, convincing the guards to not give her any punishment… he liked Taichi's sister very much and admired very much for what she was willing to risk to keep her brother safe. He looked out of his wide window to a small secluded garden on a lower level of the citadel. He had one of the grandest rooms at the top of the citadel near the hall of king Ishida. Daisuke admired the silky red curtains that filtered the bright sunlight through the open window. A mahogany desk with a pile of scrolls stood opposite the gigantic four poster-bed at which Daisuke frequently glared at. Candle bracket littered the walls and Daisuke enjoyed the feeling of the cool stone on his feet as he placed them cautiously on the floor. Next to the bed stood a mahogany wood closet with a royal red rug that was spread luxuriously across the floor. Daisuke walked out of the wooden doors to a large crescent shaped balcony and peered out towards the warehouses where Taichi, Hikari and the rest of Aramarne were being held; _I have to do something to help them! _They were his friends and even though Hikari barely knew him he knew that they trusted him. Friends helped each other no matter what the cost; he could to talk to Yamato about this… that decision could prove to be costly however as any attachment to slaves weren't smiled upon. That girl Hikari though, seemed to know Yamato on a personal level, he could ask him about her and perhaps Yamato could help her and Taichi. 

He quickly made up his mind and hurried to the washing room. He didn't bother calling for any servants to help him bathe, there was simply no time to waste, he had to try and reach Yamato before he attended this morning's court session. Daisuke always felt uncomfortable around the cold and cruel king, whose cold nature Yamato inherited but Yamato could be nice if we wanted to but the king did not seem to process that quality. King Ishida was kind to Daisuke on an occasion but that wasn't often. Yamato's father only let him and his sister, Jun, into the capital of the Mastery by the persistence of the king's advisor, Jyou Kido. Sure the king admired Daisuke ability in the army but Daisuke knew the king was merciless and would not take pity on the people of Aramarne. It was his idea to send Yamato there in the first place. The king's stormy gray gaze was nothing like his son's piercing azure blue eyes but made you feel uncomfortable none the less as its scrutinizing gaze seemed to stalk you as soon as you enter the room. Yamato didn't look much like his father and Daisuke had never met the late queen Natsuko Ishida. She was supposedly a woman of great beauty but did not possess her son's blue eyes but had the same blonde hair as he did.

Daisuke hurried out of his bath, drying himself and pulling on his clothes, armor and belting on his hand-and-a-half sword. He attempted to tame his wild hair with little success, finally giving up he frowned at his reflection in his oval shaped mirror before unbolting his door and rushing out. He stopped a few doors down and banged loudly on it, he made it a custom to wake up his lazy sister before heading for court. This time there was no need to wait for wait for any struggle from his sister to get dressed as his sister banged open the door fully dressed in a long deeply-cute maroon gown. Her eye's sparkled as she shrieked, "Prince Yamato just came back last night! I've missed him so much; I bet he's missed me too! Oh my darling prince Yamato! Well we mustn't waste time Daisuke we must meet my love for breakfast, I bet he has so much to tell me!"

Daisuke shook his head bemusedly, "Now you have no problem waking up now that Yamato is back. How unfair is that? Usually I have to wait so long for you to actually rise from your bed and prepare for the day," moaned Daisuke.

His spiky brown haired sister glared at him and hissed, "There's no time for your stupid comments Daisuke! Yamato must be waiting for me!"

Daisuke just groaned before muttering, "He doesn't even like you that much."

Jun's eyes swiveled straight to him as they narrowed, she snapped, "What did you say to me you little worm?"

Daisuke put a wounded expression on his face before asking meekly, "Is that anyway to talk to your little brother and captain of the Mastery's army?"

Jun just rolled her eyes and muttered, "yeah, yeah whatever," under her breath. They usually get along pretty well but sometimes she drove him crazy about Yamato that he couldn't help but to argue with her. She marched past him, her good mood turning sour. Daisuke followed her cautiously as he valued his life and had no desire to be the brunt of his sister's anger this morning. He chuckled; he knew that once Jun saw her 'beloved' prince and her bad mood would deflate instantly. He suddenly remembered that he needed to get to Yamato as soon as possible to talk to him about the Yagamis. He dashed past his sister because if she got to him first then she would latch onto him and never let him go and would probably scare him into court earlier than Daisuke needed. Jun's eyes narrowed as she called after her brother but Daisuke didn't slow down so Jun picked up the bottom of her dress and began sprinting after him and so the race began.

They dashed round the corners to the breakfast hall, mowing down servants and court officials. They yelled at the two siblings, shaking their fists at them, their voices resounding off the round smooth hallways. Jun shoved Daisuke aside and pushed the wide breakfast-hall doors open crashing right into a stocky servant carrying a breakfast tray piled high with food. The food splattered onto the walls and the servant crashed onto the floor and slid to Jun's slippered-feet. She glared at the servant before glancing into the breakfast hall. She suddenly wailed, "Where's prince Yamato, he's not in the hall!"

Daisuke struggled to get up, putting his hand on a soggy piece of bread and slipping to the ground once more. She tried to remove the food that was smeared on his once spotless armor. He glared at Jun and started clapping sarcastically, "well done Jun," he commented dryly.

The dazed servant did not attempt to move from his spot at Jun's feet and said, "The crown prince is not coming to breakfast today, I was just bringing his meal to his room and may I be so bold to compliment you on your excellent choice of underwear this morning my lady."

Jun's face turned scarlet from rage and embarrassment, she kicked the unfortunate servant on the side of his head before swirling her skirt around to march to Yamato's room. Daisuke grabbed her arm and whirled her around to face him. He growled, "Don't you think you've caused enough problems for one day?"

Jun sniffed angrily and began to retort to what would escalate to huge embarrassing scene if not for the cold voice that called from down the hallway, "what's all this noise about? I was trying to sleep!"

Jun turned around and let out a loud high-pitched squeal. She dashed down the corridor and let out the hunting cry of "my love!"

Yamato's stoic expression turned stonier as she grabbed Yamato around the waist and gave him a bone crushing hug. "Jun," he started curtly, "could you please detach yourself from me?"

"Oh Yama-poo, I haven't seen you in so long! There's no need to keep up false pretences when I know you've missed me!" cried Jun.

"That's enough Jun," came Daisuke's angry voice.

"Who are you to tell me what to do!" came Jun's sharp reply, her arms still encircled on Yamato's waist.

"Yes Jun, I have a great need to talk to your brother in private so please leave us," said Yamato coldly. Jun would have never disobeyed a direct order from Yamato so clearly unhappily she nodded and marched back towards the breakfast hall. Daisuke glared at his sister's retreating figure, her obsession towards the crown prince sometimes went overboard and irritated everyone to no end. He turned to Yamato and gave him a deep bow, Yamato was his close personal friend but it was protocol to address him as 'sir' and bow to him every morning. He twisted his neck to face the Yamato's amused expression. "So you still insist on bowing to me every morning even after all the times I have asked you to stop," asked Yamato, his tone laced with amusement.

"If it keeps your father happy that we don't consider each other equals than I am willing to bow sir," said Daisuke as Yamato frowned at the mention of his father. "So what did you want to talk to me about sir?" asked Daisuke hastily changing the subject.

"Nothing, I just wanted your sister to leave me alone," said Yamato the corners of his mouth twitching into a smirk.

Daisuke laughed and remembered the real reason he wanted to address Yamato so urgently. He was about to mention Taichi when Yamato quickly interrupted, "I don't particularly want to go to the breakfast hall since Jun will be there so I think I'll skip breakfast since it's currently smeared on your armor and the walls. I'll head straight to court but you needn't accompany me if you want to eat."

Daisuke glared at his messy armor in disgust and grabbed a napkin from a passing slave to clean it, "no I've lost my appetite this morning so I'll come with you to court but there is something of great importance I've wanted to discuss with you alone."

Yamato gasped feigning panic, "NO! You are not hungry? Well this is a first. Ok so let's get moving by the way what is it that you wanted to discuss?" asked Yamato curiously.

"First of all sir, do you remember a girl called Hikari Yagami? I believe she is a slave from Aramarne and was in your group while traveling."

"From Aramarne?" asked Yamato his brows furrowing. There was a short pause while he struggled to remember anyone of that name. "Oh yes, the brown haired girl with deep brown eyes, I can't say my meeting with her was pleasant."

"How so sir?" asked Daisuke.

"She came to thank me for sparing two of her friends that were slowing down the group. I was very surprised that anyone would even dare to approach me. She seemed scared in the beginning but soon fought back admirably to my cold words and harsh demeanor," said Yamato almost fondly.

Daisuke gaped at Yamato's tone and words but quickly recovered, "but why did you spare them sir? Excuse me for saying this but it was totally uncharacteristic of you."

"I don't know really," replied Yamato softly with a distant look on his face and started uncertainly choosing his words carefully, "I looked into one of those boy's eyes and I don't know how or why but I saw myself in that boy. I don't know what came over me but I just let him go… I don't how but he just looked a lot like me."

Daisuke nodded, not really understanding but he felt he shouldn't approach the topic any further. Yamato had started walking again so Daisuke fell into step with him, "you said the meeting with Hikari Yagami wasn't pleasant?" he prompted.

"Yes because she asked me why I did so many cruel things so I gave her my reasons, which you already know," he exchanged nods with Daisuke. "She yelled at me telling me that they weren't good enough so we had a brief argument and I asked her to leave so she did after telling me that she was still grateful for what I did."

Daisuke's jaw dropped open as he crowed, "she actually had the gall to yell at you!"

Yamato nodded and laughed bitterly, "yes and even though the experience wasn't pleasant I still admire her for standing up to me and speaking her mind. Even though some of things she said to me were hurtful and… true, I still think of her as a unique because not many girls would say what she said to me."

"Wow! The ice-prince actually felt hurt so he does have feelings after all!" cried Daisuke in mock distress as Yamato glared at him, "But you don't have any feelings for her do you sir? The praise you gave her was very high for you," asked Daisuke curiously unable to keep the jealousy out of his tone. Yamato stopped short and quickly said, "No of course not, why would you even think such a thing?"

Daisuke noticed that he didn't quite meet his eye when he said that so he chose not to pursue the matter any further; Yamato had started walking again so Daisuke hurried taking long brisk strides. Yamato eyed before asking carefully, "why the sudden strange question Daisuke?"

"Oh I met her running away from the warehouse; I think she was searching for you. Her brother has been made a soldier of our army and she wants somebody to do something about it because I don't think she wants to lose her brother," said Daisuke.

"Well I can do anything about that Daisuke, that's my father's decision as he's the one who reviewed the slave's applications and appointed them their posts. I'm sorry Daisuke," came Yamato's reply, his voice laced with genuine sincerity.

Daisuke let out a sad and defeated sigh, "That's too bad, her brother has become my close friend and I admire his little sister very much. I just feel that she's fragile and I need to protect her, she might have optimism and hope but I believe they have abandoned her so she needs my help."

Yamato frowned feeling bad, "You could talk to my father about it, he might just be in a good mood and listen but I don't think that's very likely because you know how he feels about showing any type of kindness to slaves."

Daisuke let out a hollow laugh, his voice melding with the clicking of boots that echoed in the almost empty halls. His empty laugh turned into deep frown as he muttered, "I don't care, I have to do something for them, they've lost everything they own and their livelihood I have to protect and help them. By the way sir, did your father actually do all the work of reviewing all the slave applications and appointing them their designated duties?"

Yamato smirked, "I doubt he'd do so much work so I think he got somebody else to do it for him and he probably just randomly nodded or disapproved to the jobs. Any how Daisuke, why exactly were you out on the streets that night?"

Daisuke's frown was replaced with a goofy grin, "I had to collect some papers from a court official's manor and I might have stopped down at the pub for a drink… but I only had one I swear!"

"Right," said Yamato arching an eyebrow, "That's very unlike you Daisuke."

"I wasn't up for a killer headache in the morning sir," smirked Daisuke, "But I wasn't drunk t all sir or else how could I have escorted Hikari safely to the warehouses."

"Okay I believe you," smirked Yamato rolling his eyes and lifting them up in defeat. The pair stopped walking as they reached the huge copper doors etched with death, violence and torture that were the entrance to King Ishida's court. Daisuke's good and goofy moods always evaporated when he walked through these doors. When anyone saw the most ruthless and power-hungry man and the planet earth they would immediately fall silent. Two soldiers armed with spears had them crossed over the door. The bowed and saluted at Yamato and Daisuke respectively before uncrossing their spears and pulling open the gigantic copper door with a loud creaking noises that made whoever was in the court focus their attentions on whoever was about to enter. Daisuke and Yamato walked into the wide hall nodding and greeting the various court officials deliberately avoiding facing the figure at the head of the hall.

The throne room was long with think marble pillars flanking them on their walk to the throne, behind the marble pillars stood stern statues of the previous kings bearing an extreme likeness to the long dead but powerful rulers. As the thrones neared, there were many empty spaces for the future kings of the Mastery. Daisuke noticed Yamato staring at an empty statue spot and knew that he was determined to have his own place in history standing in this very hall. _Yamato might be a good friend but he can get corrupted easily and soon there might not be much hope for him_ thought Daisuke as he frowned. The ceiling arched with wooden beams holding huge chandeliers that swayed threateningly above the people below. Many rich purple seats lined the sides of the hall where the court officials sat when court was in session. Daisuke's boots clicked sharply on the polished floor as he avoided stepping on the grand red carpet that leads down to the thrones.

The thrones were grandly decorated with gold elaborate designs and plush red cushions. The king's throne was larger than the queens whose throne hadn't been filled for many years now. It had a neat ring of flowers around the head of the throne, which was a small sign that King Ishida hadn't forgotten his wife. Everyone knows that the king was cruel and fearsome but this reminded the courtiers and especially Yamato that he was still human. Behind the thrones stood various drapes depicting many of the victories and epic battles that the Mastery had fought since they first started to build up their empire and on the grand throne itself sat the king.

King Ishida was a powerful looking man with a stern brow and chiseled features. He had a handsome but cruel face that betrayed not a single thought. Daisuke gulped, he always had a sinking feeling that the king could read minds and if not then how was always one step ahead of him? His stormy gray eyes followed Daisuke as soon as he set a foot in the hall. His white-blonde hair was neatly combed back and rested on his broad masculine shoulders. H wore a navy blue vest with a black cape and his shiny new armor that covered his chest and shoulders. Daisuke could see that plumes of his billowing charcoal-coloured shirt and on his head rested a girdled golden crown that reflected the light from the candle brackets. The hall was large but not airy or bright.

Daisuke and Yamato approached the king; kneeling on one knee they bowed their heads in respect. There was a deadly silence in the hall as the king's eyes did not leave Daisuke's back. Daisuke raised his head, the hair on the back of his neck prickling, and was grateful to see the king had diverted his attention to his only son. "Rise Yamato and Captain Daisuke Motomiya, you are early today. I trust you completed your mission with ease and the Mastery thanks you for your hard work in bring us the whole of Aramarne as slaves. I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to last night as you arrived very late so we must have a private audience later," said the king coldly not sounding sorry at all. Everyone in the hall flinched and scurried as far away as possible from the king as his voice bounced off the walls of the hall. "Is there anything in particular that you wanted to discuss with me as you are early today my son?"

Daisuke felt his backbone give away as he stepped forward, his knees turning to jelly, "Your majesty I was the one who need to discuss something of great importance with you," spoke Daisuke loudly and clearly but trying to crane his neck to the left side of the throne to see if he could spot Jyou. The tall blue haired man was however no where in sight so Daisuke summoned every ounce of courage and continued to speak his voice leveled, "There are two slaves in great need of my services your majesty. I consider them with great affections and one of them is being made to join the army, which is against both his wishes and his family's wishes-"

"Oh but I don't believe in giving slaves a say in any matter because if they speak for themselves then they wont be slaves. They will begin to think individually and not follow orders so they will never learn the discipline needed to be a servant of the Mastery. I frown upon you having any attachment to a slave but I shall indulge in this nonsense a bit longer as you amuse me Daisuke Motomiya," said the king amusement written all over his face.

Daisuke scowled at the King's playful insults but steadied his composure because he certainly didn't want to make the king angry. With no Jyou here, there would be almost nobody on is side that the king would actually listen to but Taichi needed his help so he continued, "So your majesty, I beseech you to grant me this one favor and give that slave another duty. He's only one slave; surely it won't make a difference if just one slave doesn't join the army your highness."

"I don't think I can do that Daisuke, if I help one slave then they will all be clambering for me to help them and many people will think I have gone soft," started the king in a dangerous tone but didn't get to finish because the crown prince quickly interrupted him, "father I wish to have that boy as my bodyguard as I feel he is uniquely qualified for the post. I also received a threat to my life today so I need someone to protect me."

The king just stared at Yamato who struggled to meet his eye without giving away his lie. He knew if he looked down then his father would immediately know that he is lying so he forced himself to keep eye contact without blinking. He couldn't afford to make a mistake because this was crucial to helping the Yagamis, he didn't know why but he just felt that he owed the Yagamis this at least. There was so much tension in the air that Daisuke felt he could have cut it with a knife. The silence was deafening as no one dared to even breathe as the king continued to stare Yamato down. The king suddenly spoke in soft dangerous voice, "and when did you receive this threat son?"

Yamato answered emotionlessly matching his father's gaze head on, "yesterday when I returned."

"And why did you not tell me about this immediately?"

"I felt it was of no great importance at that moment father."

"Oh but your life is of a great importance son as you are the crown prince, the heir to the throne of the most powerful empire this side of the Earth. You are definitely of no little importance to the Mastery," said the king with a fake smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I'm sorry father," said Yamato slightly sulkily with his eyes on the black and white marble floor. The king smirked, "Fine son I shall appoint you three guards to follow and guard you on wherever your go except into your own personal chambers where they will stand at attention outside your room next to the ones already stationed there. I will also see to it that the guards are stationed above and below your room. That slave from Aramarne shall be in your escort as you wished."

Yamato frowned deeply, he did not want anyone tailing him wherever he went but it was for the good of those slaves. So he let out a deep unhappy sigh but was careful not to show too much expression on his face or his father might suspect something, he might as well get used to it as that was going to be how things will be for a while now. He bowed deeply to his father as Daisuke let out a poorly concealed sigh of relief. Daisuke felt an overbearing emotion of happiness and satisfaction, he knew that Yamato as cold as he might look would take good care of Taichi. He too bowed low to the king and twisted his head up quickly uncomfortably aware that the king's eyes were upon him again. He hurried to take his position on one of the purple seats to report on the success of his and Yamato's mission but the king had stood up causing everyone to drop to their knees in fear. He surveyed the people in hall with distaste, "You are dismissed captain Motomiya you need not attend court for today, Yamato please stay."

Daisuke tried to conceal the huge grin that was slowly creeping onto his face so happy that he had managed to save Taichi and that he didn't have to attend court today. Daisuke did a mini victory dance unaware that many of the court officials were stifling their laughter at the sight of his weird hand movements. Luckily the king didn't see this because he was sure that he would find this some what less than amusing. He tipped Yamato an enormous wink, too excited to notice the spasm of fear flitting across his face before he put on his normal cool façade. He bowed to the king once again and saluted Yamato before doing something close to a sprint and hurrying to the end of the hall. His cape swirled around him as she dashed through the door nodding at the soldiers who gave him a hasty salute as he took them completely by surprise. He knew that Yamato had paid heavily with his freedom to help Taichi so Daisuke owed him a lot. He would head straight to the warehouses to tell Taichi the good news. He turned out of the doors taking one last glance at the creepy king and Yamato's pale emotionless face.

* * *

"Everyone leave us right now!" bellowed the king as Yamato winced. Everyone hurried to the doors causing them to get jammed with everyone wanting to leave the king's presence first. Yamato looked at the empty spot at the left of the king's throne praying that Jyou would turn up. The kings advisor was nowhere in sight, he was obviously late for court. He had hoped the young advisor would be there because the king would not ask him to leave with the rest. Now though, even Jun would be welcome to stay with him, he just didn't want to be alone with his father now. He had been alone with his father plenty of times but it was his father's cold and calculating gaze, as if we was plotting the best way to take him down. His father was a dangerous man; his moods were as unchangeable and unpredictable as the sea. His moods changed so quickly that it was almost impossible to tell when his father would get angry. The king just smiled coldly at his son not giving Yamato the slightest hint on what he was thinking. Yamato gulped careful to make sure that his father didn't see that we were scared as he wondered what his father wanted to talk to him alone about.

"I bet you were wondering why I called you here alone," asked King Ishida suddenly.

Yamato blinked in surprise, he had never listened to Daisuke's lunatic ravings that his father could read minds but now he was starting to wonder if it could possibly be true. He opened his mouth to speak but his father beat him to it, "It's not about that 'threat' to your life though I would very much like to see the note that you received informing you that you were in danger."

Yamato spoke softly, his voice barely rising above a whisper, "I don't know why you called me here father."

"I have some wonderful news son," said King Ishida, his smile not reaching his eyes again.

"What is it sir?" asked Yamato cautiously not really sure what his father considered as good news.

"You are to be married!" exclaimed the king trying to sound excited but not quite managing to do so. Yamato froze, _Married? This can't be happening!_

"And when were you going to tell me about this? When you tricked me into standing at the alter?" asked Yamato almost yelling. The hall became a deathly silence as the king's neck slowly reddened.

"What did you say to me?" asked the king the warning clear in his voice.

"I'm sorry father!" stuttered Yamato, turning paler than usual, "I'll never disrespect you again, I'm sorry!"

"You will get married this month whether you like it or not! You will never disrespect me ever again or you will taste the back of my hand! Do you understand?" yelled King Ishida, his face crimson with one hand raised.

Yamato stared in shock at his father but managed a shaky bow. He turned and walked swiftly out of the doors only pausing to give the soldiers at the door a cold nod as they saluted him. He kept a controlled pace not letting anyone see how he really felt. He continued to walk briskly down the hall ignoring all the servants that dropped whatever they were doing to bow to him. He shoved past the soldiers who were guarding his room not giving them a chance to show him any signs of respect. He grabbed a parchment from his desk and his favorite eagle feather quill and flopped down on his cushy bed to write the 'threat-to-his-life' note.

"Bad day huh?" came a voice from the balcony.

"That would be called creepy you know? Climbing onto someone's balcony is not nice," came Yamato's reply as he got out of his bed and walked out onto his balcony.

The boy sitting on the edge of his balcony laughed, "well it was pretty easy actually, you see the citadel is built in a specific way that each level-"

"Please, I don't want to hear some long complicated lecture on how something is related to something else. Only you would find that exciting, other people like me just find it strange," drawled Yamato.

"Fine no need to be nasty about it," cried the boy pretending to be offended, "so how was your journey, I hope you used my advice."

"Yeah thanks for that, without knowing about the festival of Jinkara I would have run into much more resistance. The capture of Aramarne was so easy seeing how everyone was so distracted, weak and divided," smirked Yamato. "It really is remarkable on how much you remember on Aramarne."

"I did spend most of my childhood there," replied the boy.

"Do you think they would be happy to see you alive?" asked Yamato loosing his emotionless face for a moment and adopting one of concern.

"No I don't think so, they might think I'm a traitor so I better stay out of their way and hope that no one recognizes me," said the boy sadly.

"I guess you're right Koushiro," said Yamato. Koushiro stared across the city to the warehouses almost longingly before prompting Yamato to tell him bout his day.

A/N: well here it is… sorry about the yakari hints here but I felt that the fic needed it for reasons you will see later. In case you haven't noticed there will be a Takeru, Hikari and Daisuke triangle just vote and tell me who you want Hikari to end up with! Don't worry all the mimato fans because Mimi will be here soon! The story will be so boring if Yamato and Mimi get together immediately so they will have their fair share of problems **if** they get together. I might play with some other couples for them so beware! Don't forget I play god here so I can do whatever I want! Muhahahaha! Jk… this fic will be the way you like it! So do not forget to review and tell me what you think! Criticism is welcome but only if it's constructive! I know you all know how to review so do it! Thanks and REVIEW!


	8. Chapter 8

I apologise once again for taking so long to update! Been having my board exams and don't worry I've written the next chapter for this, I just need to type it up. Huge thanks to all the people who reviewed! You all are so amazing and are my driving force. Well here's the next chapter for The Mastery and don't forget to review once you're done!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Mimi just stared at the older boy, where was his father? Why these two boys left were here to rule the tribe in his absence, weren't there more qualified people? Everyone also seemed to fear these boys, why was that? All these questions swam around her mind as se became more and more confused. The older boy was eyeing her now, almost hungrily. She shivered with disgust as his eyes roamed up and down her body before calling out loudly, "She is very pretty one, is she not?"

The watching crowd chorused, "Yes she is oh great one!"

"She would make a good slave for me, wouldn't she?" asked Sam Ichijoji.

"Yes she would your brilliantness," The crowd replied.

"No way, I'm nobody's slave! I will work for no one especially not some smelly tribe leader! I am a white from Aramarne and I do not bend down to anyone. I," she stopped suddenly, realizing that she now sounded like the epitome of a White and felt disgusted. She looked up straight into Sam's eyes, "I refuse to be your slave!"

"You refuse?" whispered Sam dangerously, his eyes watching her as the entire tent fell silent then he began to grin wickedly, "you wont be my slave? We will have to do something about that, Ling!"

The red-bearded man named Ling looked up sharply, "yes, your greatness?"

"Take her to the prisoner's tent and do not give her any food or water until she changes her mind about my offer," Sam said coldly causing Mimi to shiver involuntarily.

"Is this entire thing necessary brother? Can't we just let them go?" asked the younger brother softly, his long hair shading his eyes.

There was a sharp intake of breath from the surrounding tribe members and Mimi immediately felt afraid for the boy. "You dare contradict me, Ken? Me, your older brother, how dare you! I have half a mind to throw you in that tent with her, what has happened to you Ken? Why have you suddenly become so soft and you know that father won't be pleased," demanded Sam angrily as she glared at his younger brother until Ken was forced to avert his gaze.

Mimi felt a small stab of sympathy for Ken who once his brother looked away, gave Sam a murderous glare. Sam glanced around the tent and then snapped at the watching warriors, "What the hell are all of you staring at? Get lost and take the prisoners with you!" he gestured at Mimi and at the other unfortunate prisoner, "I think that that one's dead anyway."

"Yes O ace one," called out the man named Ling.

"Ace one? Wow you people must really be struggling with the name thing," smirked Sam, "Now get out, all of you!"

The warriors bowed hastily and hurried out carrying a very disgusted and reluctant Mimi. They picked up the unconscious man who was slumped against the matted floor. Mimi groaned as she resigned herself to her fate: she was doomed to be carried in this uncomfortable and disrespectful manner for the rest of her life, draped on the back of a very smelly tribal warrior. She peered at the dimly lit path through the hundreds of tents as the group stopped in front of a rather shabby tent that had a couple of people who were standing guard. Mimi eyed it with disgust, there was no way she was going to stay there and she still had standards.

The men shoved Mimi into a cage at one end of the tent that smelled like its previous occupants had been some very smelly chickens. The unconscious man was dumped into a slightly larger cage while a few of the other occupants half-heartedly begged for their release. A hard faced woman approached Mimi and tugged away her sword and her bow and arrows. She smiled cruelly, "Don't think that we've forgotten about your weapons, these are really nice, who made them for you?"

Mimi felt for her empty sheath that was still buckled at her waist and almost screamed with frustration, she had completely forgotten about her weapons. She could have used her weapons to take down the red-bearded man before she reached the camp. Never in her entire life had she felt so stupid, how she would expect to rescue Aramarne if she acted so stupidly and didn't think, she didn't know. She groaned as the woman raised her eyebrows and asked in a patronizing voice, "yes?"

Mimi just glared at her and remained stubbornly silent and then she turned her attention to the floor avoiding the woman's piercing gaze. There was no way she could tell the woman who had given her the weapons but she felt like crying as her only links to the emperor were wrenched away. She felt for the map under her robes, a brief smile flitting across her face but she carefully hid it, she didn't want to alert the woman of its presence. The woman continued to stare at her until she spoke coldly, "I see that we have a silent one , I think it's time for me to leave so the next time I come back, you had better have learned some respect. You will show Prince Sam and Ken respect or you will continue to starve, is that clear?"

She accepted Mimi's sullen silence as her answer so she locked the cage with a huge rusty padlock and after shooting Mimi one last look of contempt and loathing; she stalked out of the tent. Mimi dropped her head into her hands as her shoulders shook, she had never felt so disgusted before in her entire life. Here she was, being treated like some animal and she was locked in a cage where animals belong. "Don't cry pretty girl," came a rough voice from her right.

She ignored it guessing it was another prisoner trying to hit on her. She sobbed some more as she realised that she had failed the quest the emperor had given her. She was hopeless and now there was no way she could escape this hellhole. She would either die of starvation or die as a slave to Sam, whichever fate she chose for herself. "Girl, I am talking to you so its only polite that you look at me," came the voice again.

Mimi sniffed and reluctantly looked up at the man to her right; it was the man who had been unconscious earlier. Mimi examined him closely now as she hadn't given him a second glance earlier, she had been too preoccupied about her own problems. He looked very tired and suddenly broke into a coughing fit. He continued to cough as Mimi watched helplessly from her cage wishing somehow that she could help. Se glanced around the tent very worried about the man's fate but none of the other prisoners even batted an eyelash. All of them were slumped against their cages with some of them shifting very slightly and others not moving at all.

The man continued coughing but now he had doubled over and was spitting out blood. Mimi gasped, terrified and cried shrilly, "oh my god, what's wrong with you?" Her voice was reduced to a pleading whisper, "please stop."

The man's coughs subsided as he shifted his weight onto his arms and leaned forward, panting heavily. His long, dark hair had fallen all over his face and was now sticking to his forehead. His face was shining with sweat as he suddenly wretched. Mimi muffled a scream as she tried to reach out of her cage towards him. "Stop!" called the man in his hoarse voice, "I'll be fine and don't worry about me because I think you're in more trouble than me. It'll all be over for me soon enough but this could only be the beginning of one big nightmare for you."

He got up and leaned against the bars of his cage and groaned as Mimi stared in shock and quickly whispered, "What's wrong with you? Why are you so sick?"

"I told you not too worry yourself about me," snapped the man angrily and began to cough again. Mimi opened her mouth to say something but the man held up a hand so she allowed him to finish coughing. Taking in deep breaths he continued, "Yes you were so foolish, you should have never spoken back to Sam like that. Now he will save the worst for you and he will never let you go. He is so proud and arrogant; you saw how he insists that all the tribe members call him a self-flattering name, he doesn't stand for insubordination from anyone. Everyone knows that if you are captured by a tribe then you must appear disoriented or unconscious and avoid speaking at all. Then you just might have a chance of escaping but now I highly doubt that you will. They will be so strict with you and now because Sam likes you, I tink he'll keep you here until he grows bored then he'll kill you."

He coughed softly as Mimi's eyes widened with fear but she quickly snapped back, "Well how was I supposed to know that? What about all the other prisoners, shouldn't they know what to do when captured? If so then why are they still here?"

"They are just as stupid as you so now like you they'll be stuck here for ages and just some advice, yelling at a sick man won't make you fell any better," wheezed the man.

Mimi opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it so instead she asked softly, "Will you at least tell me what's wrong with you?"

The man's hazel eyes swiveled towards her, "It's none of your concern and anyway, there's nothing you can do for me now."

Mimi just stared at him with worry but did not press the subject any further. The man glanced at her before focusing on his knees, suppressing another coughing fit. "Can you do me a favor girl?" asked the man softly.

Mimi hesitated slightly before answering though not unkindly, "What is it?"

"I was supposed to carry something very important to the heart of the Mastery but I was captured," began the man.

"You're from the Mastery!" sputtered Mimi, "there is no way I'm going to do anything for you!"

"Just listen!" coughed the man impatiently, "It is of great importance that you destroy it in the river next to the heart of the mastery, do you understand?"

Mimi's lip curled, "You want me to destroy it? Why in the world would you want me to do that?"

"Wow, you really are annoying! Just please don't ask any questions, I want my last few hours on earth to be as peaceful as possible. I'm asking you to do this for me please because it's of such great importance. I'm going to die tonight and there is nothing anyone can do about it. That dimwitted tribe is bound to find my package on my body and I can't let them find out what it is. They would probably worship it or hopefully they might discard it as junk and throw it away but those two princes are bright enough to figure out what it is sooner or later. Even if it was thrown away someone else might find it and it can only be destroyed in one place. No on should use it so whatever you do, do not lose it!" whispered the man throatily.

"I thought there was absolutely no way I could escape so how am I supposed to destroy this package of yours?" asked Mimi rolling her eyes.

"Yes you probably couldn't escape now because of your stupidity," snorted the man as Mimi glared at him, "but on the slight chance that you do please destroy it. If you never escape then just keep it safe and let nobody have it please, just please do this for me. Hide it forever and never let anyone know you have it, but if you can then try to destroy it."

"What is it exactly?" asked Mimi.

"You ask too many questions," replied the man playfully but started coughing again, also emitting painful retching sounds. He calmed down as the panic in Mimi grew before speaking, "Just promise me one tin please just never look at it, never open the package please. Just promise me this."

Mimi's eyes widened as she bit down hundreds of questions, knowing that they irritated the man. She hesitated to answer but the pathetic sight of the man leaning against his cage door, occasionally letting out feeble coughs made her answer slip quickly through her lips, "Yes I promise."

A small smile graced his face as he took a deep breath and replied softly, "Thank you so much pretty girl, you have no idea how much you have done for me already and how much this means to me. I trust you pretty girl, I don't know why but there is something about you that just makes me believe that you won't let me down."

"Mimi," said Mimi softly.

"What was that?" asked the man.

"My name is Mimi Tachikawa," she said more clearly.

"Very well Mimi, my name is Jarsha," smiled the man.

"No sire's name," asked Mimi curiously.

A sad look phased over his face as he answered quietly, "no."

Mimi decided not to ask him about that so she hastily asked, "Where's the package?"

Jarsha sighed and then pulled a small object out of his torn shirt. It was wrapped in a stained red cloth and was about the size of a chicken egg. He reached out of his cage and Mimi did the same, he passed the small object to her. Mimi leaned back into her enclosure and rolled the package around in her palm, wrinkling her nose, "This is it? Can you even call this a package? After your entire speech this is a bit of an anticlimax, I expected something, well something more."

"Don't be fooled by its size, it has more power than most things on this earth," snarled Jarsha.

"This tiny thing has power?" asked Mimi pretending to be astonished as she fiddled with its wrapping. She caught a hint of a brilliant emerald green as the wrapping parted slightly. Her eyes grew as round as dinner plates as she felt an overwhelming desire to rip open the pathetic packaging that covered the object that was right in her very palm. She had so much power in her hand if she just took hold of the tiny but very powerful object then she could rule the world. Before she could do anything however Jarsha quickly cried seeing her hungry look, "Don't! Do not look at it or open it, you promised!"

Mimi snapped out of her revere and dropped the object on her cage floor wit a small clatter. His cries caused another violent coughing fit that had Jarsha's entire body shaking with spasms. Is eyes widened as his pupils contracted, he bent foreword with his hands gripping his stomach as his shoulders heaved. He vomited out more blood until he collapsed on his cage floor. Mimi's hands were covering her mouth to muffle her screams as she felt the corners of her eyes prick with tears. She couldn't bring herself to look away from Jarsha as his body twitched with his shoulders and knees banging against the cage door. His body and clothes were drenched with cold sweat with his hair plastered to his forehead. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," whispered Mimi as tears rolled down her face, "Please wake up, please."

Jarsha stirred lightly and whispered, "Its okay pretty girl, no harm done."

Mimi frowned at that, she didn't say anything but let out a soft sigh of relief though the tears continued to run down her cheeks. She spoke softly, "I'm so sorry I looked, I swear I will never look, I'm so sorry but I don't know what came over me!"

Jarsha smiled slowly but it looked as if it took a lot of effort just to move those muscles, his eyes lightly twinkling as he said soothingly, "It is really okay, I trust you."

"No it's not okay, you don't even know me!" wept Mimi.

"Pretty girl, Mimi just listen I may not know you but I just know I can trust you and that you wont let me down. I just need you to be brave and destroy what I asked you to please? Do you remember what I asked you to do?" asked Jarsha slowly.

"Yes, do not let anyone get this package and try to destroy it at all costs but I must never look at it. The only place it can be destroyed is the river next to the heart of the Mastery," said Mimi quickly as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Glad to see you were listening," smiled Jarsha.

Mimi smiled back though she was still sniffling, the fact that this could be Jarsha's last moments of life was tearing her up inside. She couldn't believe that she had just met the man; he has already had such a profound effect on her life. The fact that he felt that Mimi could be trusted even though he had never met her before made Mimi smile. The smile quickly disappeared as her face clouded with worry about Jarsha. Jarsha who was studying her face intently caught the shift in her mood immediately so he stuck his hand out of his cage, reaching towards Mimi. He smiled at her encouragingly so she took his cold hand that looked very pale and almost skeletal.

"If I don't live much longer pretty girl, this will be goodbye. I am very glad to have met you, even if it is at the end of my life. You made my last moments beautiful, I just wish we could have met earlier but meeting you at the very end is better that nothing. You are truly special even if you haven't realised it yet. You have so much power in you to change the world with your heart and your sincerity. I know you will do great things so good luck with whatever path lays ahead of you and take special care of that package for me." He finished softly with a sad edge to his voice, squeezing Mimi's hand lightly.

"I won't let you down Jarsha; I hope you find eternal happiness, because you deserve it. I didn't know you before this day so I don't what misdeeds you have performed but I know you are a good person because you have made such a positive impact in my life and shown me so much kindness," whispered Mimi, a fresh batch of tears running down her face.

The remainder of the night was filled with the spine-tingling sound of almost inhuman sounds of retching. Blood splattered the floor of Jarsha's cage as his stomach went in with an unknown force pushing against him, forcing up whatever contents occupied his stomach. Jarsha's gasps for breath became increasingly desperate as salty tears spilled from his eyes. Mimi couldn't even bring herself to imagine the pain and suffering he was going through and found herself feeling increasingly nauseous. She continued to grip his hand giving him reassuring squeezes every now and then but did not exchange anymore words with him. She was scared that anything could tip him to his death; she prayed that he would survive the night. Jarsha however was right to believe that tonight would his last. He died as his coughing ceased and his hand turned to ice and fell limply from her hand.

"Jarsha?" whispered Mimi devastatingly but no answer came, Tears flowed freely down her face as she cried loudly not caring if anyone heard and this was how Ken Ichijouji found her.

"Quiet!" he whispered harshly trying to control Mimi as her howls were reduced to hiccups. Once he managed to minimize Mimi's volume he stuck up four fingers and began waving them about asking hurriedly, "how many fingers am I holding up?"

Mimi hiccupped and blinked at him in surprise, "how exactly does this matter?"

"Just answer the question," hissed Ken harshly.

"Four," replied Mimi stupidly.

"You're not guessing are you?" asked Ken dubiously.

Mimi shook her head angrily, "what are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" asked Ken sarcastically beginning to regret his decision to rescue her, she seemed annoying and would probably mess things up. "I'm here to rescue you," said Ken jangling a set of keys nervously.

Mimi just blinked again, "Um why were you asking me how many fingers you were holding up?"

"Most of the prisoners are usually drugged, I needed to see whether you were disoriented at all," replied Ken not looking up but shifting through the set of keys.

"Oh so that why they look so sleepy all the time," mused Mimi, Ken just rolled his eyes still sorting through the keys.

"But why are rescuing me?" demanded Mimi.

"Can't you just be happy with the fact that I'm rescuing you?" sighed Ken heavily. Mimi glared at him until Ken sighed again unhappily adopting a slightly pained look on his face. "I'm helping you because if I don't then my conscience will never be at rest. My brother is evil, controlling and a narcissist; if I don't save you from him then I'm condemning you to your death. Some time ago I was just like him and I wanted power, I would do almost anything to get it but everything I did was so horrible and evil. I was so ambitious but at such a terrible price, I killed so many people and because of my hunger for power, I lost my best friend." A tear rolled down his face but he continued, "I have stood by the atrocious deeds that Sam has performed but no more! My brother was always better at me at everything but what I'm about to do will hit him hard. I have to do something good fast or I'm scared I'll be lost in the darkness forever so stop asking questions and let me do this."

Mimi pursed her lips unhappily but allowed Ken to open the heavy padlock that kept her in her cage. He wrenched the cage door open and tugged Mimi out of her cage. Her limbs screamed with pain as she had been cramped up in a tiny space and had been unable to stretch. She stumbled out, gripping Ken's forearms to steady her. She dusted out her robes and batted her matted hair out of her eyes. She turned to snatch Jarsha's package off the bottom of the cage, stuffing it up the sleeves of her robes before knotting the sleeve to prevent it from falling out. Ken didn't notice anything but roughly shoved her out of the tent. He grabbed her wrist with an iron like grip and placed a finger to his lips to signal her to be silent.

They remained outside the tent in the cold night air, Mimi shivered, and it was freezing. The stars twinkled coldly in the inky black sky as other worldly watches, providing neither the warmth nor comfort that Mimi desperately needed. They stood completely still for the next few minutes trembling because of the cold and out of fear until the sound of heavy boots crunching on the dry plain grass met their ears. After the sound came and then faded they moved silently tip-toeing through and behind tents. Mimi flinched slightly as heart beat against her chest; it was so loud that she was sure that the whole camp could hear it. A sentry stomped by near the weapon tent causing them to duck behind a water barrel; Ken still had not relaxed his grip on her wrist. He dragged her into the tent and began rustling around the numerous weapons, finally pulling out Mimi's gifts from the emperor.

He handed them to Mimi, not saying a single word to her and not even allowing her to express some amount of gratitude. He grabbed Mimi's wrist once again causing Mimi to wince painfully. He didn't even allow her to adjust the weapons to her body; she was left carrying them awkwardly under one arm, constantly hitching them up to stop them from falling. She stumbled over the grass and small rocks, which popped up at random under her feet.

Ken just continued on relentlessly, not slowing his pace or allowing Mimi to catch her breath. Finally after that long walk Ken pulled Mimi into a large tent with lavish decorations. Beautiful drapes hung everywhere circling a carved bed, a wardrobe took up one corner and another side contained a shelf with scrolls, brilliantly tinted jewels and carefully sculpted bottles. An ornately decorated tent stood at the foot of the bed, seeing all this made Mimi feel a pang of sadness, her old room in Aramarne was grander than this.

Mimi's weapons tumbled to the ground as she sank to her knees out of pure exhaustion. Ken didn't spare her glance but instead began to rummage through the wardrobe, pulling clothes out. Mimi crawled to her feet and in a completely spontaneous action, pounced on the bed causing Ken to shoot her a withering look. He proffered a handful of clothes to her, "Here take these and put them on after washing some of that filth off your body."

Mimi took the clothes gratefully while Ken took a basin from under the bed and lifted a blue bottle of the shelf. He poured water gently into the basin as Mimi watched, slightly mesmerized by his graceful actions. Mimi leapt off the bed and began to splash water on her face and rub the grime off her arms and legs with a cloth that Ken gave her. She smiled at Ken gratefully but began to clear her throat lightly, informing him that he should turn around so she could change.

He nodded and turned to face the entrance of the tent. Mimi paused to admire his slim neck and pale complexion and once again marveled at how he had managed to keep his skin this colour when he lived in a place like this. His long beautiful blue hair rested beneath his chin looking perfectly straight and silky, Mimi immediately felt envious of it.

She turned to the pile of clothes that she had kept at her feet and began to pull off her robe and put on the bottle green trousers and billowy black shirt. She carefully tucked the map and Jarsha's package up her sleeve and then knotted it. Mimi hugged the clothes to herself, she immediately felt refreshed. "You can turn around now," Mimi called to Ken.

He swooped round to face her and began to speak hurriedly, "Okay, here's the plan, the sentries always go to get ready for breakfast at dawn-break for exactly five minutes. Five minutes later, new sentries take up the job so even one slip up and we'll be dead. I'll lead you to a small hill outside the camp and an eagle will pick you up from there and take you as far away from here as possible. It's your job to make sure that you don't get caught again because I will not help you then."

"You're not coming with me?" asked Mimi slowly.

"No," replied Ken, "I'll have done my bit so there's no need to accompany you any further."

"What if they suspect you of helping me?" asked Mimi in a small voice, worried that he would get into trouble because of her.

Ken smirked as if amused by her concern, "they wouldn't dare," he announced with confidence, "What have I ever done to merit that kind of suspicion?"

Mimi just threw her arms around him tearfully causing him to stumble back in shock. His face turned a violent shade of scarlet as his eyes widened. "Thank you for all your help Ken," she breathed into his shoulder.

Ken just snorted attempting to look indifferent and then pulled away. He peeked out of the tent flap and then turned back to Mimi, his eyes serious, "We have to leave in two minutes so be ready."

Mimi gave him a soft smile before reaching for her weapons and belting her sword around her waist. She strapped her quiver around her chest and pulled her bow around her. Ken pushed his head out of the tent and into the cool morning air again. The sentries were still out there, which caused Ken to pace around the tent irritably. He glanced out once again only to see the sentries gone and then whipped his head around to meet Mimi's curious eyes "Come on!"

They bolted from the tent, Mimi slower than Ken; she wasn't accustomed to the weight that her weapons gave her. They dashed past a series of tents before Ken abruptly skidded to a halt before her. She smashed into him and let out a tiny scream, in front of them was the same woman who had taken Mimi's weapons from her. Her cruel eyes were narrowed as she glanced between Ken and Mimi. A triumphant smile flashed past her face, her eyes gleaming, "The prisoners are escaping!"

She barely finished the sentence when Ken sliced her through her middle. Her eyes widened with shock as her upper torso fell to the ground limply. Mimi stared at her with abstract horror; she couldn't force her legs to move. Her brain was screaming instructions at her but her limbs seemed numb, they weren't moving. Ken grabbed her forearm and pulled her forward as men poured out of surrounding tents. The face of the butchered woman continued to flicker in front of her eyes and she felt nauseous. She glanced at Ken and could immediately tell that things were definitely not going according to plan.

Her mind blankly registered how Ken's sword was glinting red in the morning sun, small droplets of blood showering off the blade. The tribe warriors were yelling behind them brandishing a wide variety of weapons from axes to others she had never seen before. Their voices became a dull rush around her and time seemed to slow down as Ken lifted his sword high into the air and brought it down onto the shoulder of a charging warrior. He turned to her and was saying something to her with a frantic look on his face but she couldn't discern what he was saying, the blood pounding in her ears and her heart beats were drowning out all the other noises.

They were being diverged upon with warriors closing in from all directions. A swoop of hopelessness rushed in her chest, they were trapped and now they would surely die. _No No NO!_

Mimi screamed to herself, she had to rescue Taichi, her parents, Hikari, the emperor's words echoed in her head, _You are Aramarne's only hope, you must save us. _Mimi tugged her sword out of its sheath and rammed its hilt into a face of a warrior, his nose broke and blood spurted everywhere. Every noise and action became very clear to her but she had no idea what to do. This was her first battle and no matter how easy Ken made it look, gracefully parrying and stabbing, it was very hard.

Her arms burned as they struggled to lift her sword, she slapped its flat blade onto the head of another soldier and he landed on the ground with a thump. Ken charged to her and neatly stuck his sword into the stomach of a soldier behind her. He had some sort of horrible beauty in battle and it terrified Mimi. No matter how accomplished he was in the art of swordsmanship, there were just too many enemies. "Run!" screamed Ken he sidestepped an attack and turned his eyes to her, "Run!" He shoved a warrior back onto a bunch of his comrades, they stumbled back and Ken took this opportunity to grasp Mimi's hand and pull her forward. He continued to neatly stick his sword into various persons followed by Mimi whose sword was no better than a club in her hands.

A tall man suddenly appeared at her side and she opened her mouth to scream but was cut off by his axe whistling past her ear. She tried to move her sword but she was too slow, he mercilessly struck her side. Red flashed in front of her eyes and she could dimly make out Ken hacking the man's chest. Tears were beginning to form and her head felt light and weak. Something warm was drenching her side with pain pulsing from it; she tried not to look at it. Ken was in front of her fighting off two men and yelling at her. Mimi shook her head and clutching her side began to clumsily move her legs, wincing at every step. Ken was right behind her but the warriors were gaining. Suddenly a huge shaped blanketed the sky above her, she opened her mouth in shock and watched as the brown, feathered creature swooped past her and circled around. She watched as Ken reached up and grabbed onto giant bird and was lifted into the air. She tried to shout but her throat felt like someone had just rubbed it with sand paper.

Tears filled her eyes and panic rose in her throat, they were going to leave her here, she stopped running, she might as well give up now. Suddenly the giant eagle landed in front of her flapping its enormous wings and causing the loose sand to lift off the ground and hurtle towards her face. The rough sand stung her tender cheeks and she squeezed her eyes shut. She could hear the warriors behind her yelling in anger as their vision was impaired by the sudden rush of sand.

She felt a hand grab hers and yank her away from the warriors. She was being hoisted on the eagle and the sudden landing on its back caused her vision to swim in a river of black dots. She swayed heavily as she felt Ken get on behind her and wrap his arms securely around her waist. She managed to croak out, "I thought you weren't coming with me."

"I don't have much of choice anymore do I?" he snarled into her ear. He raised his voice, "Come on Swift Wings, let's go!"

The eagle let out a monstrous cry and flapped its wings, which were straining under the weight of two passengers. Hundreds of arrows flew out of the camp causing the eagle to spiral upwards, narrowly missing the arrows. One streaked past and ripped through Mimi's sleeve. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The package flew out into the air as Mimi's eyes widened. She grappled for it as it slipped through her fingers and plummeted to the ground, "No!" she screamed as she attempted to dive after it but ken held on tightly holding her torn sleeves tightly to prevent the map to slip out also.

An inhuman cry pierced the sky and tore Mimi out of her revere; the eagle had been struck by on of the arrows. She could hear Ken muttering, "Keep going, keep going," to the eagle.

Mimi just stared blankly ahead with an indescribable feeling writhing in her stomach. She had failed; she had failed Jarsha, who knew what would happen now? Tears poured down her cheeks as she began to choke and gasp frantically for air, she couldn't breath. She couldn't even frame a single sentence as her entire body racked with sobs.

The eagle suddenly swerved to the right, he couldn't hold on much longer, his wings were already pumping frantically to keep them in the air. Luckily they were out of range so no more arrows followed them. They eagle continued flying until he unexpectedly dived to the ground, its talons skimming the grass. Exhaustion finally overtook it causing it to bowl over and topple to the ground.

Mimi landed heavily on Ken, feeling a white hot burst of pain causing her to clench her eyes shut. She could feel Ken's rhythmic breathing under her as her side throbbed so badly that her teeth hurt. She heard Ken grunt as she painfully rolled onto her back. She stared up at the orange and pink streaked sky. Ken's face suddenly interrupted her view, he was asking her something but she couldn't understand him. She turned away from his concerned face and felt her eyes close. She could hear Ken talking to the eagle and then heard a loud flap cutting through the air, the eagle had taken off.

She opened her eyes and saw Ken at her side and he was now ripping the bottom of his trousers to make a pile of fabric. She blinked and felt hot tears run down her face, burning her sun burnt cheeks. She could feel Ken gently tending to her side, his soft fingers fumbling with the bottom of her shirt. "Just sleep," he was whispering, she couldn't help but to comply.

When she awoke, the sun was pretty high in the sky. Ken was rummaging through a pack he had brought with him to give her when they got to the hill, before noticing that she was awake. Mimi groaned as she felt stiff all over and her side was still burning painfully making her eyes water. She struggled to sit up and felt Ken by her side helping her with a hand on her back. He pressed a water bottle to her lips saying quietly, "Here drink this."

She took a small sip and began to sputter as the cool liquid touched her parched throat. "You know," began Ken in the same quiet voice as Mimi continued to sip the water, "I'm really surprised they haven't come looking for us yet. It isn't in their nature or should I say my nature to let anyone escape. I expected this place to be crawling with them, the sun blocked out with eagles hunting for us. We shouldn't let our guard down though, Sam is smart and manipulative, believe me, he always has a plan. Can you walk?"

Mimi hesitated slightly and then nodded, she felt more scared after she heard Ken speak. Ken sighed, "I'll carry you for a bit but then you'll need to walk, we must hurry, we've wasted enough time here. By nightfall this place with all probability be teaming with eagle warriors searching for us. Where are you going to go now? I don't think I'll ever be able to go back so I'll come with you and decide what to do."

Mimi immediately felt guilty, she hadn't meant for Ken to get exiled from his tribe. He managed to swallow her guilt before croaking out, "The Mastery, I have a map."

Ken's eyes widened, "The Mastery? I can't let you go there! I know you're from Aramarne so I'll take you back there."

Mimi scowled and shook her head angrily, "You can't take me to a place that doesn't exist anymore. Aramarne has been destroyed by the Mastery and my family and friends have been taken as slaves. I have to go meet up with them." She decided to leave out the part about trying to bring down the Mastery and avenge her people because she knew that Ken would definitely keep her from going there is she told him that.

"No I can't let you go there, they will kill you or you will have to suffer with your family," he said, shaking his head stubbornly. "I'll take you somewhere else; we can go to the coast. Leave your family, only death and suffering will be found at the Mastery."

"They are my family!" replied Mimi furiously, "I can't leave them! I have to be with them, I don't care about how much suffering will be brought to me. I don't care, I can't abandon them!"

Ken looked angry and he seemed be having some internal battle before he managed to utter in a low voice, "Fine, I'll not question you any further. Let's go."

Mimi glanced at him in surprise, "You still want to come with me?"

"I don't have anywhere to go anyway. Plus with all the trouble you manage to get yourself into, it seems like you'll need my help." Mimi gave him a smile of utter gratefulness; she really did owe Ken her life. He helped Mimi put the pack on her shoulder without damaging her bow and quiver. He then kneeled down so Mimi could ride on his back. For a rather small boy, he had a surprising amount of strength as he lifted her up. While he was referring to Mimi's map, Mimi's thoughts wandered to Jarsha and the lost package. She gulped down the guilt and panic, what kind of horror and danger had she unwittingly unleashed on the world? She felt Ken move so she glanced up at the nearing mountains, which was the barrier between them and the Mastery. Ken walked at a calming pace so Mimi relaxed against his shoulder and together they began to traverse the plains to the Mastery.

* * *

Sam Ichijouji stepped towards a red package caked with mud and bent down to pick it up. He grinned before softly whispering to himself, "Well what do we have here?"

He stroked the package and gently tugged a bit of the cloth away to reveal a glint of green before whispering silkily, "yes, something very important."

He tucked the package into his pocket before turning to the red bearded man, Ling and spoke in a cold commanding tone, "There's no need to pursue them Ling, we have what they need. My brother shall pay deeply for his treachery; there is lot of work that needs to be done."

Sam ignored the bewildered look that Ling gave him and strolled back to his tent, yes things were really looking up for the tribe of the eagle.

A/N: Here it is and I am so sorry for taking this long but please don't hold a grudge and not review! Sora will enter in the next the next chapter and a bit more about Koushiro will be revealed so don't forget to keep reading and reviewing! :D


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